as in neutron star
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Recent Examples of white dwarf
In the center is a white dwarf, the dense, compact core of a dying star.
—
Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 24 Apr. 2026
Once a star dies, there are a number of possible fates that can ensue as well, as a stellar corpse can remain as a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
—Big Think, 14 Apr. 2026
More common novas work in a similar way, but their white dwarfs are smaller, meaning their bursts are much less frequent.
—Liz Kruesi, Quanta Magazine, 2 Feb. 2026
As the red giant expels gas, the white dwarf pulls in this material until enough accumulates on its surface to trigger a thermonuclear explosion.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for white dwarf
Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 24 Apr. 2026
Once a star dies, there are a number of possible fates that can ensue as well, as a stellar corpse can remain as a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
—Big Think, 14 Apr. 2026
More common novas work in a similar way, but their white dwarfs are smaller, meaning their bursts are much less frequent.
—Liz Kruesi, Quanta Magazine, 2 Feb. 2026
As the red giant expels gas, the white dwarf pulls in this material until enough accumulates on its surface to trigger a thermonuclear explosion.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for white dwarf
Recent Examples of Synonyms for white dwarf
Noun
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Since then, along with its fellow detectors Virgo and KAGRA, LIGO has detected gravitational waves from many mergers between pairs of black holes, pairs of ultra-dense neutron stars — and even mixed mergers between a black hole and a neutron star.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
1 June 2026
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Gamma rays are the most energetic type of light rays, typically marking the last gasp of a dying star or the cataclysmic clap of two neutron stars.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
6 May 2026
Noun
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Then in the future, when the binary star component enters the red giant phase, long after the outer star has become a compact white dwarf, the mass transfer could begin again in the opposite direction, with matter falling onto the surface of the white dwarf.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
3 June 2026
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Granted, this series has moving parts beyond its binary stars.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
18 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The lunar disk will appear to draw closer to the red light of Antares as the pair track a low arc over the southern horizon, before finally setting at sunrise on May 31, with the red star having transitioned to the top of the silver moon.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
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But with patience and a spirit of exploration, each step reveals a surprise: tiny red stars, minute purple pinpoints, a wash of pink-white across a creek.—
Alissa Greenberg,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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For really distant stars, Cepheid variable stars are used.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
24 May 2026
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Bradley Schaefer, an astronomer at Louisiana State University, focuses on cataclysmic variable stars, objects that vary in brightness over time due to some type of major turmoil.—
Liz Kruesi,
Quanta Magazine,
2 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The discrepancy often signals a missing variable, a changing market or a flawed assumption.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
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The result was a giant variable-sweep-wing aircraft powered by four Kuznetsov NK-32 afterburning turbofan engines.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
23 June 2026
Noun
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Both the white dwarf and the red dwarf have their own intrinsic magnetic fields.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
2 June 2026
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Scientists first observed the planet in 2019, when the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite caught a glimpse of L 98-59 d passing in front of the red dwarf star at the center of its system.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
11 May 2026
Noun
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The brown dwarf creates gravitational instability at distances equivalent to the distance between Mars and the sun, but this didn't prevent planets from forming in the system.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
23 June 2026
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This mass straddles the line between that of gas giants and brown dwarf stars, leading astronomers to call the object a planetary-mass companion.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
18 June 2026
Noun
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There are even some wilder suggestions out there, like moving Earth’s orbit farther from the Sun or removing some of the Sun’s mass to tame the red giant.—
Scott K. Johnson,
ArsTechnica,
15 June 2026
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Material from the red giant accumulates on the white dwarf until a thermonuclear reaction ignites on its surface, causing a nova explosion.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“White dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white%20dwarf. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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