On Jan. 31, 1783, William Herschel was creating a catalog of double stars when he spotted 40 Eridani B. This dim white object was part of a triple-star system, and was the first white dwarf ever spotted. On Jan. 31, 1862, telescope-maker Alvan Graham Clark sighted the second: Sirius B. Its existence had been predictedContinue reading “Jan. 31, 1783 and 1862: Pioneering white dwarf discoveries”
The post Jan. 31, 1783 and 1862: Pioneering white dwarf discoveries appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.