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White dwarfs

Solidifying white dwarfs. Credit: The Science website via DALEE

Challenging the Cosmos: White Dwarfs That Aren't Completely Dead

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According to the new paper, in some white dwarfs, the dense plasma in the interior doesn't simply freeze from the inside out. Instead, the solid crystals that form upon freezing are less dense than the liquid, and therefore want to float, then push the liquid inside
Artist's illustration shows a white dwarf star collecting debris from shattered objects in a planetary system. Credit: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

Chaos and Destruction: A Dead Planet's Cannibalism of Its Planetary System Goes Further Than Ever Seen

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A white dwarf provides insights into the systemic chaos that occurs when a star dies
Atmosphere of a rocky planet outside the solar system. Image: NASA

Can extraterrestrial life survive the death of a star? The Webb Space Telescope will reveal the answer

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"If rocky planets exist around white dwarfs, we should be able to detect signs of life on them in the coming years," said co-author Lisa Keltenger, associate professor of astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Carl Sagan Institute.
A 1917 astronomical photographic plate spectrum of the star Van Meenen from the Carnegie Archives. The pull-out box shows the strong lines of the element calcium, which is surprising to see in a century-old spectrum. The spectrum is a thin (mostly) dark line in the center of the image. The broad dark spurs above and below the spectrum line originate from the bulbs used at the time to calibrate the image. In this image they appear in contrast to highlight the two emission lines missing from the star. Photo: Carnegie Institution for Science

A 1917 photographic plate reveals the first ever evidence of an extrasolar planetary system

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A 'super-Earth' type planet orbits a red dwarf. Image: University of Hertfordshire

Almost every red dwarf may have a planet

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NASA discovered bucky balls in space

A NASA telescope detected fullerene compounds in space for the first time

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A double star system is flawed in that both members of the system are white dwarfs. Illustration: University of California at Santa Barbara

An Israeli researcher from the University of California shared the discovery of a double star system containing two white dwarfs

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Dr. Avishai Gal-Yam and research student Yair Harkavi. Weizmann Institute

White dwarfs, heavy elements

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A merger of a white dwarf and a tiny black hole forming a new tiny black hole. Figure: SLOAN sky survey

An exotic source of cosmic radiation: mini black holes

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Dead stars tell the story of the formation of solar systems

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