Astronomers using the MMT 6.5-m Telescope Discover the Lowest Mass White Dwarf Known

Astronomers have found the lowest mass white dwarf known in our galaxy: a Saturn-sized ball of helium containing only about one-fifth the mass of the Sun. In addition, they have spotted the source of the white dwarf's radical weight-loss plan. An unseen companion, likely another white dwarf, has sucked away much of the tiny white dwarf's material, leaving it a shadow of its former self.

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics press release

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T. E. Pickering

Last modified: Wednesday, 18-Apr-2007 13:46:16 MST