WD 0343+247 explained

WD 0343+247 is a white dwarf in the ecliptic constellation of Taurus. It was discovered in 1997 when examination of photographs taken for a survey of brown dwarfs in the Pleiades revealed a faint star with high proper motion. It is one of the coolest white dwarfs known, with an effective temperature estimated to be approximately, equivalent to a spectral type of M0.[1] Although referred to as WD 0346+246 in the discovery paper, it is more correctly designated WD 0346+247.[2]

Recent studies using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and MDM Observatory's 2.4-meter telescope (near Tucson, Arizona, USA) shows that this white dwarf (together with another one: SDSS J110217.48+411315.4) has a low (for white dwarfs) surface temperature between 3,700 and due to it being 11 to 12 billion years old.[3]

Notes and References

  1. 1997ApJ...489L.157H . WD 0346+246: A Very Low Luminosity, Cool Degenerate in Taurus . Hambly . N. C. . Smartt . S. J. . Hodgkin . S. T. . The Astrophysical Journal . 1997 . 489 . 10.1086/316797 . 118643795 . free .
  2. Web site: Entry for WD 0642-166 . The VizieR database of astronomical catalogues . 2014 . McCook . G. P. . Sion . E. M. . CDS.
  3. Web site: 12-Billion-Year-Old White-Dwarf Stars Only 100 Light-Years Away . Space Daily . April 26, 2012.