By Jack Knudson

Learn about the explosions that often occur at the end of a white dwarf star’s life, allowing scientists to study the acceleration of the universe.

The finale of a star’s life has enthralled scientists for years, yet questions continue to surround the explosions of white dwarf stars — the most common path that stars take during the later stages of their evolution. New research, however, has shed light on the astounding variety of ways that a white dwarf star can explode, capturing almost 4,000 of these events scattered across the distant universe. 

The explosions were detailed in a dataset and a collection of 21 associated studies published in a special issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics. The large sample size was obtained by Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a Caltech-led astronomical sky survey at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County.

The sheer amount of white dwarf explosions resulting from incidents like star collisions or star “cannibalism” may help to enlighten astrophysicists on dark energy and its potential role in the universe’s expansion. 

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