US EditionUltraviolet Light Uncovers Evidence of Rare White Dwarf Star Merger
CONSTELLATION AURIGA, AUG 6 – Ultraviolet data from Hubble reveal WD 0525+526 has carbon and ultra-thin hydrogen and helium layers, indicating it formed from a rare merger of two stars, researchers said.
- University of Warwick astronomers published a paper on August 6, 2025, revealing that white dwarf WD 0525+526 is a rare merger remnant located 130 light-years away.
- This discovery followed ultraviolet observations from the Hubble Space Telescope that detected faint carbon in the star's atmosphere, indicating it did not form through typical single-star evolution.
- WD 0525+526 is an exceptionally massive white dwarf, approximately 20% heavier than the Sun, with hydrogen and helium envelopes reduced by a factor of about ten billion compared to typical white dwarfs, indicating it is at a remarkably early stage following a stellar merger.
- Antoine Bédard explained that the hydrogen and helium layers in these white dwarfs are about ten billion times thinner compared to those found in normal white dwarfs. Boris Gänsicke added that it is uncommon to observe definitive signs of stellar mergers in single white dwarf stars.
- The findings deepen understanding of binary star system fates, emphasize the importance of ultraviolet spectroscopy, and highlight urgent need for future space telescopes to continue these discoveries.
12 Articles
12 Articles
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A massive, smoldering stellar remnant located in Earth’s cosmic neighborhood really stretches the definition of a “white dwarf.” But after reviewing data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers at the University of Warwick believe they now know why: it wasn’t birthed out of a single star’s demise. Instead, it likely came from two celestial fusion reactors smacking into each other. Their evidence is laid out in a paper published on A…
Ultraviolet light uncovers evidence of rare white dwarf star merger
University of Warwick astronomers have uncovered compelling evidence that a nearby white dwarf is in fact the remnant of two stars merging—a rare stellar discovery revealed through Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet observations of carbon in the star's hot atmosphere.
Using ultraviolet observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that a massive white dwarf, located just 130 light-years away, is actually the remnant of a stellar collision. Illustration depicting the hot stellar merger that formed the ultramassive white dwarf WD 0525+526. Credit: Dr. Snehalata Sahu/University of Warwick. Astronomers at the University of Warwick have found surprising evidence that a nearby white dwar…
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