Space & Astronomy

Astronomers have discovered a green star for the first time ever

By T.K. Randall
October 17, 2026

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) The sky at night is filled with cosmic wonders, yet now it seems that there is one more - a type of star so unusual that it has taken until now for astronomers to discover one.

Situated 326 light-years away and dubbed WD J1330+6435 - this remarkable stellar specimen was originally a white dwarf until it adopted its green hue after accreting materials from a nearby planet.

"Most stars, including most white dwarfs, behave like 'perfect radiators,' so their color is set almost entirely by temperature," research team leader Mark Hollands of the University of Warwick told Space.com.

"But nobody had really looked into what else might be possible for white dwarfs."Interestingly, it seems that white dwarf stars, depending on the materials they feed upon, can turn other colors too, including pink, orange and blue.

In the case of WD J1330+6435 - it appears to be sodium that has given it it's strange green glow.

"The traces of sodium in the atmosphere of this white dwarf absorb the orange part of the spectrum, leaving behind a ghostly green glow," said Hollands.

"Imagine standing on a planet and looking up at a green star."

"It feels like something out of science fiction."

Source: Space.com

Tags: Stars