white dwarfs
Weekly Space Hangout – June 16, 2017: Dr. Natalie Batalha and NASA’s NExSS
Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain) Special Guest: Dr. Natalie Batalha is an astrophysicist at NASA Ames Research Center and project scientist…
A Pulsar and White Dwarf Dance Together In A Surprising Orbit
The discovery of a millisecond pulsar orbiting a low-mass white dwarf star has astronomers puzzled, mainly because its orbit defies…
Will the Universe Run Out Of Energy?
It seems like the good times will go on forever, so feel free to keep on wasting energy. But entropy…
Kepler Can Still Hunt For Earth-Sized Exoplanets, Researchers Suggest
Kepler may not be hanging up its planet-hunting hat just yet. Even though two of its four reaction wheels --…
Did GD61 Eat a Planetessimal?
[/caption] The primary method by which astronomers hope to study exoplanet atmospheres is by detecting their absorption spectra as they…
Symbiotic Variable Star On the Verge of an Eruption?
[/caption] November 23rd, astronomers from the Asiago Novae and Symbiotic Stars collaboration announced recent changes in the symbiotic variable star, AX Persei,…
Do Puny White Dwarfs Make Wimpy Supernovae?
[/caption] Based on results from a radial velocity survey, Warren Brown, (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) and his team have placed a…
Mitch’s Mystery Star, Curiouser and Curiouser
[/caption] "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found…
Supernova Simulations Point to White Dwarf Mergers
Type Ia supernovae, some of the most violent and luminous explosions in the Universe, have become a handy tool for…
Unusual Massive White Dwarf Stars Have Oxygen Atmospheres
White dwarfs are strange stars, but researchers recently discovered two of the strangest yet. However, these two oddballs are a…