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White dwarfs

White dwarfs are the dense leftover cores of low-mass stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel.

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scienceConfirmed5 publishers

Warwick's color model turns the white dwarf WD J1330+6435 chartreuse green

Warwick astronomers calculate that some white dwarfs would look green, pink, cyan, yellow or purple, including what may be the first green star. The colors are computed from spectra, since no white dwarf is near enough to see.

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 57%
Operator
Operator 38%
Investor
Investor 5%

Reality

Evidence60
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+25
Incentives30
Confidence68
scienceConfirmed2 publishers

Random mass-loss kicks from the dying Sun eject a giant planet in nine of ten simulations

Caltech and Michigan theorists find a dying Sun shedding mass in 4,600 random kicks unravels the giant planets' orbits within 10 billion years in 90% of runs. It is a simulation result built on kick sizes inferred from Gaia binaries, and the reported figures do not cleanly support the hundredfold speed-up over the old estimate.

Reality

Evidence45
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+35
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence55
scienceConfirmed2 publishers

Niobium in old Hubble spectra points to a planet that may have formed after its star died

Astronomers re-reading 1999 Hubble spectra of white dwarf HS 0209+0832 found unusually high niobium that may trace matter the star shed as it died. The team proposes that some of that debris built a gas giant hinted at in TESS data, though the planet remains a candidate.

Publishers:sciencedaily.com universetoday.com

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+25
Incentives30
Confidence60
scienceOne report1 publisher

Gemini North resolves the streaks of Pa 30, likely remnant of the 1181 supernova, into knots of gas

Gemini North imaging shows the streaks of Pa 30, the probable remnant of the 1181 supernova, are knots of gas strung like pearls. Because it is the Milky Way's only known Type Iax remnant, astronomers plan to use its features to look for more like it.

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence50
scienceOne report1 publisher

IISc model grows a magnetized white dwarf to 2.4 solar masses, well past the Chandrasekhar limit

Indian Institute of Science simulations let a magnetized white dwarf reach about 2.4 solar masses, well above the 1.4 Chandrasekhar limit. The model traces one route a star could take, and how many of the Type Ia supernovae used to measure cosmic distances start that way is still open.

Publishers:phys.org thehindu.com

Reality

Evidence50
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+15
Incentives35
Confidence50
scienceConfirmed6 publishers

Niobium-rich white dwarf points to a planet built from material its own star cast off

Warwick-led astronomers tie niobium at over 1,000 times solar levels in a white dwarf to a candidate planet made from what the star shed as it died. If it holds up, it shows planets can still form after a star has died.

Perspective Coverage

6 publishers
Builder
Builder 51%
Operator
Operator 34%
Investor
Investor 15%

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+30
Incentives40
Confidence60
scienceOne report1 publisher

White dwarf RXJ0528+2838 has driven a bow shock for at least 1,000 years without a disc

Astronomers find white dwarf RXJ0528+2838 has sustained a bow shock for at least 1,000 years with no disc to power it. Its strong magnetic field may account for part of that, and the team says an unexplained energy source may supply the rest.

Publishers:sciencedaily.com

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+20
Incentives40
Confidence55