GoKawiilAstronomers find white dwarf stars can appear green or pink, study says
A study published this month in RAS Techniques and Instruments, led by Mark Hollands of Warwick University, reports that white dwarf stars can display unexpected colors such as green and pink, rather than the standard red-to-blue spectrum typical of most stars. Researchers attribute this to trace elements like sodium, calcium or carbon interacting with dense helium in the star's atmosphere as it cools, absorbing specific wavelengths of light.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The finding challenges the long-held assumption that a star's color is determined almost entirely by its temperature, suggesting astronomers may need to reassess how they classify and interpret white dwarf observations. It could also offer a new way to detect remnants of planetary systems or core material within these dense stellar objects, since the trace elements causing the color shifts may originate from such sources.
- White dwarf stars can appear in unexpected colors like green and pink, not just the standard red-to-blue range.
- The effect arises from trace elements such as sodium, calcium and carbon interacting with dense helium atmospheres as the star cools.
- The research, led by Mark Hollands of Warwick University, was published this month in RAS Techniques and Instruments.
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Published there as: “Scientists Find a ‘Ghostly Green’ Star, and That’s Not the Only Crazy Color”
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