Astronomers may have identified green and possibly reddest white dwarfs
Astronomers may have identified two white dwarf stars with colors you don't usually see: one glows green, and the other is possibly the reddest star ever spotted.
Both are within 65 light-years of Earth, with WD J1011+2845 specifically 48 light-years from Earth.
The green star, WD J1330+6435, gets its color from having lots of calcium, lithium, and sodium in its atmosphere, with sodium absorbing the orange part of the spectrum.
Meanwhile, WD J1011+2845 looks deep salmon-pink because its deep convection zone has lifted carbon from its core to its surface, and carbon molecules distort the light so heavily that almost all of it is squeezed into wavelengths beyond 600 nanometres.
Atmospheres drive white dwarf colors
This study, led by Dr. Mark Hollands, Warwick Prize Fellow in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group at the University of Warwick, found that about one in 30 nearby white dwarfs has these unusual colors.
It turns out white dwarfs aren't as plain as scientists once thought; their colors can change based on what's in their atmosphere, not just their temperature.
It's a cool reminder that space still has plenty of surprises left for us to find!