Mark Hollands

Stories

Astronomers find the first genuinely green star

Lead author of the study

Astronomers at the University of Warwick have identified the first star ever credibly reported as green: WD J1330+6435, a white dwarf their models place at about 4,000°C that would glow chartreuse to the human eye.

Updated Oct 26

Notable Quotes

The traces of sodium in the atmosphere of this white dwarf absorb the orange part of the spectrum, leaving behind a ghostly green glow. Imagine standing on a planet and looking up at a green star. It feels like something out of science fiction.

from Astronomers find the first genuinely green star · Updated Oct 26

We'll be getting a tenfold increase in the number of white dwarfs that have spectra. And so maybe if we're lucky, we'll go from one or maybe two green white dwarfs to 10 or 20.

from Astronomers find the first genuinely green star · Updated Oct 26