Scientists find a star that would look green!
The green star is a white dwarf. That is what is left when a star like our Sun gets very old. It is tiny for a star, about as big as Earth. But it is very, very heavy!
A team of scientists in England found it. The star is too far away to see without giant telescopes. So the scientists studied its light to work out its color.
The outside of the star is made of a gas called helium. It also has tiny bits of other things, like calcium, which is in your bones, and sodium, which is in salt. Together, they make its light look green.
Stars give out lots of colors of light, all mixed up. When green is mixed with the other colors, our eyes see white. So a green star is a big surprise!
One day, our Sun will become a white dwarf too. But not for billions of years. That is a very, very long time away!
With a grown-up, look at a gas stove flame or a candle. The blue part is hotter than the yellow part. Stars are a bit like that: blue stars are the hottest!
On a clear night, look for a star pattern called Orion, low in the east, late at night. Can you spot the reddish star Betelgeuse and the blue-white star Rigel?
A scientist who studies stars, planets and space.