Can We See Dead Stars On The Sky?

Astronomers talk of a star ‘shining’ only when it is generating energy within itself by nuclear fusion, but stars continue to shine in the normal sense, pumping out huge amounts of light and other radiation, long after their fuel is exhausted and fusion has come to an end.

White dwarf stars have super hot surfaces with temperatures of 100,000 degrees Celsius or more, and blaze with a searing mix of white light, ultraviolet light and X-rays – they’re only faint because they’re so tiny. They continue to glow for many millions of years as they gradually cool and fade.