Thursday, April 27, 2017

W is for White Dwarf


Today, as we move into the doldrums of the skies in our A-Z challenge, we’re at the letter W.  There are no constellations that begin with a “W”, so we’ll have to look elsewhere for a heavenly body to admire.  Today, it will be a “White Dwarf.”  No, this is not one of Snow White’s Caucasian Suitors (which one of the seven dwarfs would that be?). 


Wrong Dwarfs (and shouldn't snow white be a blonde?)
Instead, I am speaking of a particular type of star, of which we have a hard time seeing because they are so dim.  White dwarfs are stars that are on their way out, so to speak, having burned up their fuel, they now remain as a dense compact core that slowly cools.  There is still enough heat and energy to emit some light, but fusion has stopped and at some point in the next dozen or so billions of years, the star will switch off its light and become a black dwarf (of which none is currently known to exist, but then the solar system is vast and a dark star could hide anywhere).  The closest white dwarf is a binary star to Sirius.


Now, I should have never said "never" when it comes to Mr. Jupiter.  There is no reason for this blog to go back to its normal G-rating.  Tomorrow, I have a surprised cooked up for you that includes another Don Juan Jupiter’s exploits.  I’ve been worrying for some time what to say about the letter “X”.  I had originally thought I’d write something about navigation but that’s not as fun...  As I pondered about my situation, I finally came up with another idea.  Stay tuned (and keep the kiddies away for another day as the blog will remain PG13)!  

25 comments:

  1. Very informative. I will definitely have to come back for X LOL Find me here. LINK

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  2. There is something very vast and poetic about a star cooling into a lightless black dwarf...

    The Multicolored Diary: WTF - Weird Things in Folktales

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  3. It's kind of sad to think of a white dwarf as on their way out but sounds like they can hang on for quite a while in their dimmed state. WeekendsInMaine

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  4. I would probably narrow it down to Doc, Happy or perhaps Bashful. Who wants to date someone who is Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey or Grumpy all the time!

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  5. I learned some things about what a white dwarf is today. And now I'm looking forward to what you have planned for the letter X!

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  6. I blogged about white dwarves on "C is for Chandrasekhar Limit". My whole blog's been about astronomy this April.

    Never thought about the poetic-ness of a white dwarf. There is something bittersweet about it, n'est ce pas?

    --Her Grace, Heidi from Romance Spinners

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  7. PG13? Oh my goodness, I'll have to come back for that. Sounds positively scandalous. As for Snow White, I think the name refers to her skin color, which definitely would cause a scandal these days.

    W is for the Watergate Scandal

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  8. At least you did not get lost in a black hole.

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  9. You've got me all excited about X tomorrow. I still haven't found mine, yet.
    W is for Warp and Weft

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  10. I'm impressed with your creativity for these difficult letters. Looking forward to your X-rated entry tomorrow! ;)

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  11. I’m looking forward to whatever scandalous thing Jupiter does next . . .

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  12. Interesting! Can't wait to see what you do with X.

    Filled to Empty

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  13. When I first heard of white dwarfs, I was quite young. I spent far too much time worried that the Sun would become one soon. Great post!

    Emily | My Life In Ecuador | Water. Clean Drinking Water

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  14. Fascinating - I haven't heard of the white dwarfs before.

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  15. interesting information and as others have said, I'm looking forward to X. For W you could have used Cassiopeia, though it doesn't start with a W, it is shaped like one. That's how I recognize it in the sky.

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  16. Something I have actually heard of!

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  17. I always assumed she was Snow White because she was as pale as a corpse.

    W - Winnie the Pooh and Canada Too

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  18. Can't wait for that X to make an appearance tomorrow! L0(

    Greetings from London.

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  19. Is snow white by her pale skin and I love she isnt blonde , I have dark hair too :)

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  20. I think you have done so well with this series, I can't believe that here is 'W' already.

    All the best Jan

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  21. Hi Sage - the solar system and beyond are so amazing to think about - I try and keep some idea about what's going on up there, or what I can see when the sky is clear ... thanks for these - I can come back and peruse through ... cheers Hilary

    http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/x-is-for-x-war-facts.html

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  22. A dark star lurking out in space sounds rather menacing. But if that's what white dwarfs become, seems like there should be quite a few out there. I'm looking forward to more of Don Juan Jupiter's exploits haha!

    A to Z 2017: Magical and Medicinal Herbs

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  23. You have to wonder why a trained medical professional was living with a bunch of sylvan dwelling prospectors.

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