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12.9: White Dwarfs and Neighbors

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    64223
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    White Dwarf surrounded by its accretion disk. The star being cannibalized) is in the upper right. Note the differences between the White Dwarf’s and the star’s color and size. White Dwarf surrounded by its accretion disk. The star being cannibalized) is in the upper right. Note the differences between the White Dwarf’s and the star’s color and size.

    Image of White Dwarf surrounded by its accretion disk.  The star being cannibalized is in the upper right.  Note the differences between the White Dwarf’s and the star’s color and size.
    Public Domain | Image courtesy of NASA.

    The nova—indicated by the white arrows, provides the illumination to allow the reddish nebula to be seen. When the nova fades from view, the nebula will lose its illumination source, so it will no longer be seen.

    Image of The nova provides illumination to show the reddish nebula to be seen.
    Nova Cygni 1992 | NASA Hubble Space TelescopePublic Domain | Image courtesy of NASA.

    This page titled 12.9: White Dwarfs and Neighbors is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lumen Learning via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.