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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"

NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf

21/02/2010

NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf
Image Credit: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Like a butterfly, a white dwarf star begins its life by casting off a cocoon that enclosed its former self. In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a caterpillar and the ejected shell of gas would become the prettiest of all! In the above cocoon, the planetary nebula designated NGC 2440, contains one of the hottest white dwarf stars known. The white dwarf can be seen as the bright dot near the photo's center. Our Sun will eventually become a white dwarf butterfly but not for another 5 billion years. The above false color image was post-processed by Forrest Hamilton.