


A typical white dwarf
sciencepics/Shutterstock
An unusual white dwarf discovered relatively near the solar system defies current explanation.
Called DES J2147-4035, the object is located about 90 light years from Earth. It is both extremely dim and extremely cool for an object of this kind – probably just a few thousand degrees in temperature. This is cooler than almost any other known white dwarf. Its coolness suggests it is about 10 billion years old, but because our region of the galaxy is composed of much younger stars, DES J2147-4035 has left scientists baffled. …
More Stories
Is cybersecurity an unsolvable problem?
The lessons of a wildfire that destroyed a town and burned for 15 months
No A/C? No problem, if buildings copy networked tunnels of termite mounds