A white dwarf: Actually, the white dwarf is the little dot down and to the left.
Courtesy The Hubble spacecraftScientists in New Mexico have recently discovered a new type of white dwarf in our galaxy. White dwarfs are essentially dying stars - larger stars, when they run out of fuel, collapse on themselves to become black holes or neutron stars, but smaller stars (like our sun) generally become white dwarfs, and continue to radiate heat for billions of years. Most white dwarfs have hydrogen or helium-rich atmospheres, but the recently discovered stars have carbon-rich atmospheres. The discovery may change our understanding of the evolution and death of stars.
Exciting news, certainly, but these "new" stars could never replace my all time favorite white dwarf. Seriously.
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WILLOW!
I really thought this article was interesting. I personally have an interest in space and all space related things. The reason why this article cought my attention, was the picture. I know its somewhat remedial to judge an article by its picture, but its a really great picture. It shows how big space really is. You see this huge bright star and then you see the small white dwarf that in fact might actually be even bigger than the bright star you obviously see in the picture. Space is so mysterious and big that it makes me only want to learn more.
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