Types of Stars Series #2 White Dwarf

The White Dwarf is the next classification of stars we will look at. It is one of smallest forms a star can have, and is thought to be the last phase of many star's lives.

The White Dwarf is a remaining core of a star that has burnt off most of its fuel and did not have the heat to reignite the core. The star is largely composed of electron-degenerate matter, which are electrons that cannot lose anymore energy. This leaves the White Dwarf to stay where it is, slowly cooling indefinitely until it becomes a Black Dwarf.

White Dwarfs are fairly common sights in the night sky. They look very similar to the most common star in our solar system, the Neutron Star. White Dwarfs have about the same density of the Sun and the same mass as the Earth.

Attached below is a picture of a White Dwarf. Note how this one has a much more spherical shape than that of the Red Giant. The stars featured below are Sirius A and B as seen from the Hubble Space Telescope.