Astronomers Just Found the First Green Star Ever Discovered—Right After It Swallowed Its Planets

A team of astronomers has spotted a star that looks green to the human eye, a white dwarf that has swallowed rocky material from its planetary system. The star, called WD J1330+6435, is about 284 light‑years away and has a surface temperature near 4,000 degrees Celsius. Its extremely dense atmosphere contains sodium, calcium and lithium, which absorb orange light and let green light pass, giving the star its chartreuse glow. By studying the star’s spectrum and comparing it to the way human eyes see color, the researchers determined its true color. The same approach revealed other white dwarfs in pink, purple, yellow and cyan, though most white dwarfs appear white. The study suggests roughly one in thirty white dwarfs may display an unusual color.