Astronomers Identify First Known Green Star, a White Dwarf 326 Light-Years Away
Astronomers say a white dwarf may be the first genuinely green star; a second may be the reddest.
The accretion has enriched the white dwarf’s atmosphere with calcium, lithium and sodium, according to the researchers. Their model suggests this would have led WD J1330+6435 to take on a green hue. Sodium in the atmosphere absorbs the orange part of the spectrum, leaving a ghostly green glow, Hollands said.
“The traces of sodium in the atmosphere of this white dwarf absorb the orange part of the spectrum, leaving behind a ghostly green glow,” Hollands said. “Imagine standing on a planet and looking up at a green star. It feels like something out of science fiction.”
The researchers think no other star, living or dead, has ever been credibly reported as green. That would make WD J1330+6435 the first known genuinely green star, Space.com reported. The same research also identified what may be the reddest star ever observed: the white dwarf WD J1011+2845, located just 48 light-years away.
The findings have been published in the journal RAS Techniques and Instruments, according to the report.