Back to Glossary

White Dwarf

The dense, hot core left behind after a low- or intermediate-mass star expels its outer layers. White dwarfs are composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter and no longer undergo fusion.

Source: chandra.harvard.edu

APODs including "White Dwarf"

BZ Cam Bow Shock

28/11/2000

BZ Cam Bow Shock
Image Credit: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

BZ Cam is a binary star system that is not well understood. In most cataclysmic variables, matter from a normal star accumulates on the surface of the companion white dwarf star, eventually causing a nova-like flare as the material becomes hot enough to ignite nuclear fusion. In BZ Cam, however, light appears to flicker unpredictably, and an unusually large wind of particles is being expelled. Pictured above, BZ Cam's wind creates a large bow-shock as the system moves through surrounding interstellar gas. BZ Cam lies about 2500 light-years away toward the constellation of Camelopardalis.