Coldest Brown Dwarf Ever Observed: Closing The Gap Between Stars And Planets Apr 11, 2008
10, 2008) An international team of astronomers has discovered the coldest brown dwarf star ever observed ... 19, 2006) Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered and directly imaged a small brown dwarf star, 50 times the mass of Jupiter, orbiting with a planet around a sun-like star. (Science Daily)
New planet is smallest outside solar system Apr 11, 2008
The rocky planet, with a radius about 50-per-cent greater than the Earth's, circles a small red dwarf star 30 light years away in the constellation of Leo, the scientists from Spain's Superior Council for Scientific Investigations (CSIC) said ... Its rotation means 22 Earth days pass between each time the red dwarf star rises on its horizon so its days are four times as long as its years. (Globe and Mail)
'Missing link' dwarf star found Apr 11, 2008
Scientists have located the coldest brown dwarf star ever observed, an important "missing link" among these celestial bodies that are half-planet, half-star, according to a study released on Thursday. A team of French and Canadian astronomers made the discovery using two powerful telescopes in Hawaii and one in Chile, according to the study, to be published this month in the European journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. (iAfrica.com)
Scientists find smallest planet Apr 10, 2008
The rocky planet, with a radius about 50 percent greater than the Earth's, circles a small red dwarf star 30 light years away in the constellation of Leo, said the scientists from Spain's Superior Council for Scientific Investigations (CSIC). The planet, known as GJ 436c, was found by analyzing distortions in the orbit of another, larger planet around the star GJ 436, a technique similar to that used more than 100 years ago to discover Neptune. (Xinhuanet, China)
Distant star's demise previews our sun's death Mar 28, 2008
Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008. WASHINGTON Astronomers at 25 observatories around the world began aiming their telescopes this week at a preview of our sun's eventual death. (Anchorage Daily News)
Powerful Stellar Explosion: An Action Replay Mar 22, 2008
5 in the LMC, was a so-called Type Ia supernova, caused by a white dwarf star in a binary system that reaches a critical mass and explodes. In the new optical study, an estimate of the explosion's energy came from studying an echo of the original light of the explosion. (Science Daily)
Alien pursuitThe planet hunters searching for other Earth-like worlds Mar 4, 2008
----------------- ----------------- RELATED BBC SITES. Last Updated: Monday, 3 March 2008, 22:28 GMT. (BBC News -- Science)
Possible Progenitor Of Special Supernova Type Detected Feb 18, 2008
Astronomers generally agree that Type Ia supernovas are produced by the explosion of a white dwarf star in a binary star system ... 30, 2007) New, detailed observations of a supernova show evidence that a white dwarf star "fed" off a red giant to gain the critical mass needed for explosion ... When white dwarf stars explode, they leave behind. (Science Daily)
A mysterious dark energy fills the universe... Feb 13, 2008
These are created when a white dwarf star consumes matter from a neighbouring star until it reaches a certain critical mass and it suddenly explodes into a supernova. Because the mass of a star which becomes a Type 1a supernova is always the same, we know how bright the explosion which follows will be - and as well, the characteristic pattern of the dimming of this light. (FirstScience.com)
Look south to see winter's brightest constellations Feb 3, 2008
We now know that Sirius B (the Pup's formal name) is the nearest white dwarf star, and that these superdense objects are the common end stage of normal stars that have lived out their lives and used up their nuclear fuel. The sun, by the best modern calculations, will end up as a white dwarf 7. (Boston Globe)
New Astronomical Instrument Nails Nova Feb 2, 2008
Nova Finding Challenges Thinking On Powerful Stellar Explosions. Nova Finding Challenges Thinking On Powerful Stellar Explosions. (Science Daily)
Supernova Surprise: Black Holes May Pull Apart, Reignite White Dwarf Stars Feb 1, 2008
31, 2008) A strange and violent fate awaits a white dwarf star that wanders too close to a moderately massive black hole ... This series of images shows the interaction of a white dwarf star with a black hole ... 30, 2007) New, detailed observations of a supernova show evidence that a white dwarf star "fed" off a red giant to gain the critical mass needed for explosion. (Science Daily)
Dust strangely vaporized by stellar explosion Jan 29, 2008
Scientists recently observed the RS Ophiuchi system, where a small white dwarf star and large red giant. Over time, the giant sheds its outer layer of gas, which the dwarf sweeps up. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Cosmic dust disc to force rethink Jan 15, 2008
The white dwarf star in the WZ Sagittae system uses this pull to grab material from its companion at a rate of a trillion kg per second, which is enough to cause some spectacular events. As the material builds up, it will eventually cause a thermonuclear explosion, powerful enough to make the normally faint star visible in binoculars. (BBC News -- Science)
First visible extra-solar light detected from orbiting planet 60 ... Dec 31, 2007
Recommend article:HD189733 (Vulpecula) - A red dwarf star known as HD189733, about 60 light years from Earth in the constellation Vulpecula, is home to an orbiting planet which now bears the unique trait of being the first extra-solar planet ever to be observed in the visual spectrum from Earth. Using a special kind of polarization filtering, the researchers were able to mask out all other-sourced light and focus only on light reaching us reflected directly from the planet, called HD189733b. (TG Daily)
Polarization technique focuses limelight Dec 27, 2007
The transiting exoplanet under study circles the dwarf star HD189733 in the constellation Vulpecula and lies more than 60 light years from the earth. Known as HD189733b, this exoplanet was discovered two years ago via Doppler spec-troscopy. (EurekAlert!)
Extrasolar Planet Appears To Be Habitable Dec 14, 2007
9, 2007) "Boring" light from red dwarf star Gliese 581 means better odds for extraterrestrial life in that planetary system, according to University of British Columbia astronomer Jaymie Matthews. (Apr. (Science Daily)
Odd Little Star Has Magnetic Personality Dec 7, 2007
6, 2007) A dwarf star with a surprisingly magnetic personality and a huge hot spot covering half its surface area is showing astronomers that life as a cool dwarf is not necessarily as simple and quiet as they once assumed ... Berger describes the dwarf star s magnetic field as probably being a simple dipole (north-south orientation, like the Earth s much weaker magnetic field) that extends out at least one stellar radius above the surface ... Like other ultracool dwarf stars, TVLM513-46546 is... (Science Daily)
How White Dwarf Stars Get Their 'Kicks' Dec 5, 2007
Astronomers Discover How White Dwarf Stars Get Their 'Kicks ... Astronomers Discover How White Dwarf Stars Get Their 'Kicks ... 5, 2007) University of British Columbia astronomer Harvey Richer and UBC graduate student Saul Davis have discovered that white dwarf stars are born with a natal kick, explaining why these smoldering embers of Sun-like stars are found on the edge rather than at the centre of globular star clusters. (Science Daily)
Star with a carbon atmosphere Nov 23, 2007
Artists' concept of the surface of a carbon-atmosphere white dwarf star. Credit: M.S. Sliwinski and L. I. Slivinska of Lunarismaar. (Nature News Service)
Another Way That Stars May Evolve Nov 22, 2007
21, 2007) Astronomers have discovered white dwarf stars with pure carbon atmospheres ... Astronomers believe that most white dwarf stars have a core made of carbon and oxygen which is hidden from view by a surrounding atmosphere of hydrogen or helium ... The stars were discovered among 10,000 new white dwarf stars found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. (Science Daily)
Eight white dwarfs break mould Nov 22, 2007
Artists concept of the surface of the white dwarf star H1504+65, believed to have somehow expelled all its hydrogen and all but a very small trace of its helium, leaving an essentially bare stellar nucleus with a surface of 50-per-cent oxygen and 50-per-cent carbon. (M.S. Sliwinski and L. I. Slivinska of Lunarismaar). (Globe and Mail)
Greenhouse Effect May Expand Habitable Planet Roster Nov 8, 2007
"Because this detection came very fast, big terrestrial planets seem to be abundant around red dwarf stars," said Franck Selsis at the University of Lyon, the lead author on the study ... To explore this issue, the team took a look at the three outermost planets circling the cool red dwarf star Gliese 581, which is located in the constellation Libra about 20. (National Geographic)
Earth-like planets get life assessment Nov 3, 2007
Since the planets discovery, researchers have been busy using atmospheric and geological models to test this prediction, and to work out with more accuracy the size and location of the habitable zone around the red dwarf star Gliese 581. The results now suggest that Gliese 581c is too close to its star; but that the bigger Gliese 581d, discovered at the same time and thought to be eight times the mass of Earth, may sit just inside the outer edge of the habitable zone. (Nature News Service)
Dead stars collide, explode Nov 3, 2007
Two white dwarf stars slowly spiraled into each other to touch off a supernova explosion called SN 2006gz and discovered last year in a spiral galaxy some 300 million light-years from Earth, said the study's lead author Malcolm Hicken ... Astronomers split supernovas into two categories: the explosion of a young, massive star whose core collapses, or the cataclysmic result of a white dwarf star siphoning gas from a stellar companion until it, too, blows itself apart ... But a closer look... (USA Today -- Tech)
Dead stars collide, explode in deep space Nov 2, 2007
Supernova explosion was result of two slowly spiraling white dwarf stars ... Two white dwarf stars slowly spiraled into each other to touch off a called SN 2006gz and discovered last year in a spiral galaxy some 300 million light-years from Earth, said the study's lead author Malcolm Hicken ... Astronomers split into two categories: the explosion of a young, massive star whose core collapses, or the cataclysmic result of a white dwarf star siphoning gas from a stellar companion until it, too,... (MSNBC -- Technology)
Shrinking giants, exploding dwarves Aug 28, 2007
When white dwarf stars explode, they leave behind a rapidly expanding cloud of 'stardust' known as a Type Ia supernova ... Astronomers have now for the first time ever provided a unique set of observations obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile and the 10-meter Keck telescope in Hawaii, enabling them to find traces of the material that had surrounded a white dwarf star before it exploded ... These observations support a widely accepted model proposing that a white dwarf star... (EurekAlert!)
A Star's "Chemical Fingerprint" Aug 23, 2007
Scientists observing GD 362, the white dwarf star in question, say an asteroid recently "contaminated" the atmosphere of the star. By contaminated, experts mean that the asteroid was probably pulled into the star and ripped apart by the immense gravitational forces. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Dead Star Found Polluted By Earthlike Planet Aug 20, 2007
August 18, 2007 - Astronomers have found a burned out white dwarf star with the remants of an Earthlike planet orbiting it ... The white dwarf star surrounded by planetary remains is called GD 362, and it's located about 150 light-years from Earth. (International Reporter)
Planets like earth may have formed around other stars: UCLA report Aug 19, 2007
Washington, Aug.18 (ANI): Astronomers from the University of California- Los Angeles (UCLA) have, after studying the chemical fingerprint of a burned-out white dwarf star GD 362, claimed the existence of Earth-like planets in other parts of the universe. They believe that this discovery could give clues to what our solar system will look like when the sun becomes a white dwarf star some five billion years from now. (South Asian Women's Forum)
Polluted Dead Star Indicates Planets Like Earth May Have Formed Around Other Stars Aug 18, 2007
The chemical fingerprint of a burned-out star indicates that Earth-like planets may not be rare in the universe and could give clues to what our solar system will look like when our sun dies and becomes a white dwarf star some five billion years from now ... Astronomers from UCLA report that a white dwarf star known as GD 362, which is surrounded by dusty rings similar to those of Saturn, has been contaminated by a large asteroid that left more than a dozen observable chemical elements in the... (Science Daily)
Old star shows signs of Earthlike planets Aug 17, 2007
Jon Lomberg / Gemini ObservatoryAn artist's conception shows the white dwarf star GD 362 surrounded by asteroids, dust and even planets. . (MSNBC -- Technology)
Andromeda the Milky Way versus Sol Aug 7, 2007
It will end its life as a Dead White Dwarf Star. But this second half of the sun s life is quite important for life on Earth. (Suite101.com)
Dwarf Star Gulps Giant To Form Supernova Jul 16, 2007
In the most widely accepted models of type Ia supernovae, the pre-explosion white dwarf star interacts with a much larger companion star. Because of the proximity of the two stars and the strong gravitational attraction produced by the very compact white dwarf, the companion star continuously loses mass, "feeding" the white dwarf. (Science Daily)
Stellar Tiramisu: Astronomers Find Hints of Distant Planetary Pollution Jul 11, 2007
Looking at the chemical composition of stars that host planets, astronomers have found that while dwarf stars often show iron enrichment on their surface, giant stars do not. The astronomers think that the planetary debris falling onto the outer layer of the star produces a detectable effect in a dwarf star, but this pollution is diluted by the giant star and mixed into its interior. (Science Daily)
Free Will Astrology Jul 4, 2007
Although the jury is still out, circumstantial evidence is mounting that our system is binary, and that somewhere out there way beyond Pluto is a brown dwarf star carrying on a secret relationship with our sun. If it exists, it's relatively cool and small for a star, and difficult to see, which would explain why we haven't actually detected it yet. (City Pages)
Pulsing red giant glimpses at Sun's future Jul 4, 2007
"We also hope to explain how a planetary nebula forms from a red giant near the end of its life as a white dwarf star.". Copyright 2007, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.. (USA Today -- Tech)
Hopes dashed for life on distant planet Jun 19, 2007
5 light-years away, and circles a dim red dwarf star called Gliese 581. Of the more than 200 , or "exoplanets," discovered since 1995, Gliese 581c was the first found that resides within the of its star, if only barely. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Out of our world: Earth-like planet Jun 19, 2007
The planet circles the red dwarf star Gliese 581 in a Goldilocks orbit that sets its temperature between 32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit, neither too hot nor too cold but just right for liquid water to exist, according to the team led by astronomer Michel Mayor of Switzerland's Geneva Observatory ... Red dwarf stars are 80 of the 100 closest stars to Earth, he adds, making the detection of more small planets orbiting red dwarfs likely. (USA Today -- Tech)
Transit of Earth-like planet eludes astronomers Jun 13, 2007
Astronomers who had been anxiously keeping an eye on the dwarf star Gliese 581, in hopes of observing an Earth-like planet pass in front of it, have been met with disappointment so far. The star's light, as viewed by the Canadian Space Agency's MOST space satellite, has been remarkably constant meaning the recently spotted planet 581c has not passed between the star and Earth. (Nature News Service)
A week's worth of science news Jun 11, 2007
That's what astronomers hoped would happen with Gliese 581c, which is believed to be circling a red dwarf star about 20 million light-years from Earth. That's next door in astronomical terms. (Toronto Star)
The Crab Nebula Supernova 1054 AD Jun 11, 2007
Only involving the surface layers of a white dwarf star, novae are less violent explosions than supernovae. The Crab Nebula is the remnant of the supernova that the Chinese observed on July 4, 1054. (Suite101.com)
Boring Star May Mean Livelier Planet, Astronomer Says Jun 10, 2007
Boring light from red dwarf star Gliese 581 means better odds for extraterrestrial life in that planetary system, according to University of British Columbia astronomer Jaymie Matthews. MOST is a suitcase-sized (65 cm x 65 cm x 30 cm, 60 kg) microsatellite designed to probe stars and extrasolar planets by measuring tiny light variations undetectable from Earth. (Science Daily)
UK boffins: extraterrestrial life will be discovered soon Jun 7, 2007
On the other hand, any residents of planets orbiting the dwarf star GJ 849 will shortly be receiving the first series of Fawlty Towers, according to El Reg's calculations, and they won't get the second one for another four years. That might easily motivate them to get cracking on their space programme. (Register)
> read more Jun 1, 2007
A red dwarf star shines in the background of a big steamworld in this artist's concept. Copyright Lynette Cook With 236 known subjects, extrasolar planetology has matured to the point that most new planet discoveries meet with indifference. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Astronomers Discover 28 New Exoplanets And Four Multi-Planet Systems May 30, 2007
Clouds reflect the orange-red light of the M dwarf star. The planet was detected by precise Doppler measurements of the star, Gliese 436, by the California gie Planet Search Team. (Science Daily)
28 New Exoplanets Discovered May 30, 2007
Artist rendering of a planet orbiting dwarf star. Astronomers have discovered 37 new objects this year. (DailyTech)
Venus grows brighter while Mercury dims May 29, 2007
5 light-years distant -- that's about 130 trillion miles -- three exoplanets have been discovered orbiting Gliese 581, a red dwarf star about one-third as massive as the sun. One of the planets is only about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. (Akron Beacon Journal, OH -- Entertainment)
Academia's Assault on Intelligent Design May 28, 2007
This artistic illustration released by the European Southern Observatory on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, shows planets orbiting the red dwarf star, Gliese 581. Astronomers believe that the newly discovered planet Gliese 581 c, left, is potentially habitable. (Townhall.com)
'Hot' ice may cover strange new world May 28, 2007
A hot snowball sounds as contradictory as a frosty forest fire, but European astronomers think they've found one orbiting a dwarf star about 33 light-years from Earth ... It orbits a red dwarf star, about half the mass of the sun but a hundred times dimmer. (Orlando Sentinel -- News)
Caltech and UC Berkeley astronomers find something new - beyond the sun May 24, 2007
The flash was observed while astronomers were mapping supernova, but the emission was too faint to be an exploding star and too bright to be a nova, or a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star, according to Caltech. "I was simply floored," said Arne Rau, a post-doctoral fellow working with Kulkarni. (North County Times)
Far-Off Planet May Consist of 'Hot Ice' May 20, 2007
It orbits a diminutive red dwarf star 30 light-years away from us. (Story continues below). (FOX News)
New exoplanet a hot 'ice giant' May 18, 2007
It is very close to its star, the M-dwarf star GJ 436 ... Just last month members of the same team said they had found the most Earth-like planet yet outside our solar system, with balmy temperatures and orbiting a red dwarf star called Gliese 581. (CNN -- Science)
Hot 'ice' may cover newfound planet May 18, 2007
Enter the city, then press Submit. Visit the to get the latest temperatures. (Globe and Mail)
Distant world said to harbor 'hot ice' May 18, 2007
It orbits a diminutive red dwarf star 30 light-years away from us. New observations of the planet as it "transited," or passed in front of, its parent star allowed scientists to measure its size and mass. (USA Today -- Tech)
Planet Discovery Lifts Hopes for More Like It May 18, 2007
A hot snowball sounds as contradictory as a frosty forest fire, but European astronomers think they've found one orbiting a dwarf star about 33 light years from Earth ... It orbits a red dwarf star, about half the mass of the sun, but a hundred times dimmer. (Newsmax)
Hot-cold planet intrigues May 17, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- A hot snowball sounds as contradictory as a frosty forest fire, but European astronomers think they've found one orbiting a dwarf star about 33 light years from Earth ... It orbits a red dwarf star, about half the mass of the sun but a hundred times dimmer. (Boston Globe)
The Fate of the Earth May 17, 2007
The sun will eventually shrink down into a cool white dwarf star, but by then Earth's water and atmosphere will be gone and it will be a lifeless rock. But there is much more that will happen to the solar system before the death of the sun. (Suite101.com)
Alien planet may be covered in hot ice May 17, 2007
Findings suggest other worlds could have oceans, scientists say. NASAAn artist's conception shows the Neptune-size planet GJ 436b, or Gliese 436b, orbiting a cool, red star just 30 light-years from Earth. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Researchers Spy Hot 'Ice Giant' Planet May 17, 2007
but in fact water can be solidified by pressure (Tampa Bay Online, FL -- News)
Mission Could Seek Out Spock's Home Planet May 12, 2007
Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have recently concluded that the upcoming planet-finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest, would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around the star 40 Eridani, a planet familiar to "Star Trek" fans as "Vulcan." 40 Eridani, a triple-star system 16 light-years from Earth, includes a red-orange K dwarf star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun. Vulcan is thought to orbit that dwarf star, called 40 Eridani A. ... "A K dwarf star emits its light at... (Science Daily)
NASA's Chandra Sees Brightest Supernova Ever May 9, 2007
The Chandra observation allowed the team to rule out the most likely alternative explanation for the supernova, namely that it was an explosion of a white dwarf star with a mass only slightly higher than the Sun into a dense, hydrogen-rich environment. In that event, SN 2006gy should have been 1,000 times brighter in X-rays than what Chandra detected. (Science Daily)
Old rockets carry bacteria to the stars May 9, 2007
AC+79 3888 is a dwarf star and its feeble output is unlikely to revive even the liveliest bacteria. Far more time must pass before any of the upper stages will encounter a star with an environment suitable for Earthly organisms. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Exploded Star the Brightest Ever Seen May 9, 2007
Using the Chandra instruments, researchers were able to rule out the most likely alternative explanation for the huge supernova: that a white dwarf star with a mass about that of the sun exploded in a hydrogen-rich environment, leading to the unprecedented brightness. The Chandra instruments, however, found that the exploded star was not producing the X-ray radiation expected under those conditions. (Yahoo News -- Astronomy and Space)
COROT Discovers Its First Exoplanet And Catches Scientists By Surprise May 5, 2007
It orbits a yellow dwarf star similar to our Sun with a period of about 1. 5 days. (Science Daily)
