Extremely low-mass white dwarf stars observed in Gaia DR2 and LAMOST DR8

05. 12 2021

White dwarf

Astronomers found a missing link leading to creation of extremely low-mass white dwarfs

White dwarf is a dense core of dead star. Most of them have similar mass to the Sun, but sometimes astronomers find one so light, that it should not exist. The most accepted theory was, that the extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELM) are created when a massive star nearby sucks away some of their mass. Astronomers now found a system where this is happening. And not just one.