White dwarfs
Okay kiddo, let me tell you about white dwarfs!
Imagine if you were a star, and you were shining really brightly because you're burning fuel. But eventually, you'll run out of fuel and you'll start to die. This is what happens to all stars eventually, including the small ones.
When a small star's fuel runs out, it shrinks down into something called a white dwarf. It's like when you blow up a balloon and then let the air out - it gets smaller. But the white dwarf is still really hot, even though it's not burning fuel anymore.
It's like when you cook some popcorn in the microwave - it's really hot at first, even when it stops popping. That's because the heat is still there. The same thing happens with a white dwarf, even though it's not making any new energy.
Sometimes, white dwarfs will get so close to another star that they start to suck gas off of it. Kind of like when you suck soda up with a straw. This extra gas can make the white dwarf even hotter, and it can be dangerous for the other star too.
But in general, white dwarfs are little stars that used to be big, and they're really hot even though they're not burning anything anymore.
Imagine if you were a star, and you were shining really brightly because you're burning fuel. But eventually, you'll run out of fuel and you'll start to die. This is what happens to all stars eventually, including the small ones.
When a small star's fuel runs out, it shrinks down into something called a white dwarf. It's like when you blow up a balloon and then let the air out - it gets smaller. But the white dwarf is still really hot, even though it's not burning fuel anymore.
It's like when you cook some popcorn in the microwave - it's really hot at first, even when it stops popping. That's because the heat is still there. The same thing happens with a white dwarf, even though it's not making any new energy.
Sometimes, white dwarfs will get so close to another star that they start to suck gas off of it. Kind of like when you suck soda up with a straw. This extra gas can make the white dwarf even hotter, and it can be dangerous for the other star too.
But in general, white dwarfs are little stars that used to be big, and they're really hot even though they're not burning anything anymore.