Warwick astronomers discover green white dwarf 280 light-years away
Astronomers just spotted something wild, a green-colored white dwarf star named WD J1330+6435, hanging out 280 light-years from us in the constellation Draco.
This is the first time anyone's found a truly green star, and it's all thanks to the star absorbing rocky leftovers from planets that used to orbit it.
The discovery comes from researchers at the University of Warwick.
Sodium-rich surface produces chartreuse hue
Turns out, its surface is enriched in sodium and constantly hit by helium, which messes with how the star absorbs light.
Instead of absorbing one very narrow wavelength of orange like most stars of its kind, it shines in a unique chartreuse (yellow-green) shade, showing just how colorful space can get.
Study disputes white dwarfs always white
The team behind the find says this challenges what we thought about white dwarfs always being "white."
As astrophysicist Mark Hollands of the University of Warwick in England, lead author of the study published in the journal RAS Techniques and Instruments, puts it, "it does show that the universe is sometimes just as weird as anything science fiction can conjure up."