Space Scan

It’s disappointing for astronomers who have been exploring the remotest of the Universe’s edge to unable to explore the nearest white-dwarf star. It is because the star is buried in the glow of the brightest star in the nighttime sky. But, they do not seem to accept such failures. Using the keen eye of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers has isolated the light from the white dwarf, called Sirius B.



This burned-out stellar remnant is a faint companion of the brilliant blue-white Dog Star, Sirius. It is located in the winter constellation Canis Major. Based on how its intense gravitational field alters the wavelengths of light emitted by the star, the new results allow them to measure precisely the white dwarf’s mass.



Via: Eureka Alert, New Scientist1732