white dwarf

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Total Solar Eclipse Isn't the Only Rare Cosmic Event This Year

NASA calls it a 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity to catch a glimpse of this exploding star

(Newser) - As April's total solar eclipse approaches, scientists say astrophiles are in for another cosmic treat in coming months. Dubbed by NASA as a "once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity," a rare event in a star system far, far away will cause it to shine brighter than Polaris, the North Star....

Physicist: Here's How the Universe Could End
Physicist: The Universe
Could Easily End This Way
study says
Aug 29, 2020 4:00 PM CDT

Physicist: The Universe Could Easily End This Way

Matt Caplan sees a last flurry of explosions

(Newser) - Flash forward trillions of years, and the universe is expected to be a dark, cold, lonely place—but how will it end? A new paper predicts a last flurry of explosions before our known world goes totally black, ScienceAlert reports. "Galaxies will have dispersed, black holes will have evaporated,...

Century-Old Evidence of Exoplanet Stuns Scientists

It came 70 years ahead of first exoplanet discovery

(Newser) - Polluted white dwarf stars—which host planetary debris like calcium, magnesium, and iron—are key in helping astronomers discover what's beyond our solar system. "The mechanism that creates the rings of planetary debris, and the deposition onto the stellar atmosphere, requires the gravitational influence of full-fledged planets,"...

White Dwarfs Yield Key to Age of Ancient Stars

Astronomer used white dwarfs to calculate age of Milky Way's inner halo

(Newser) - Accurately measuring the age of low-mass, hydrogen burning stars is notoriously difficult, but now astronomers say they have come up with a technique for measuring those difficult stars using white dwarfs, reports the LA Times . A white dwarf is a star that has burned through all of its hydrogen, shed...

Scientists Find Diamond Planet
 Scientists Find Diamond Planet 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 28, 2011 5:54 PM CDT

Scientists Find Diamond Planet

Whirling dead star crystallized carbon into a 12-mile gem

(Newser) - If a diamond is a girl's best friend, then maybe women aren't from Venus, after all: Astronomers combing the southern sky have found a diamond planet, reports Space.com . Dubbed the rather unglamorous PSR J1719-1438, the alien planet is the remnant of a dead star and spins 10,...

Nearby Star Could Doom Earth, Scientists Warn

... in 10 million years

(Newser) - The T Pyxidis binary star system is a lot closer than earlier believed, and that could be very bad news for Earthlings, according to a team of astronomers. One of its stars is a white dwarf set to become a Type 1A supernova—10 million times stronger than a regular...

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