Anatomy Of A Dying Star

White Dwarf
A simulation of a star's final hours may help scientists uncover what triggers its death. The program simulated the death of a white dwarf (pictured above), which is a compact remnant of a star similar to our sun. H. Bond (STScI)/R. Ciardullo (PSU)/WFPC2/HST/NASA

From Discovery Magazine:

A computer program that simulates the final hours of a star's life has been developed by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and Stony Brook University in New York.

The scientists designed the simulation hoping to uncover what actually triggers a star's death.

For decades, scientists have relied on supernovae to serve as mile markers on the highways of space. These exploded stars can be measured for brightness, which provides an estimate of their physical distance.

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