View source for Astronomy:WD 0346+246

{{Short description|White dwarf in the constellation Taurus}}
{{Starbox begin |
   name=WD 0346+246 }}
{{Starbox observe |
  epoch=[[Astronomy:J2000.0|J2000.0]] ([[Astronomy:International Celestial Reference System|ICRS]]) |
  constell=[[Astronomy:Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]] |
  ra={{RA|03|46|46.508}}<ref name=simbad>{{cite simbad|title=WD 0346+246|access-date=November 5, 2007}}</ref> |
  dec={{DEC|+24|56|02.82}}<ref name=simbad /> |
  appmag_v=19.0<ref name=simbad /> }}
{{Starbox astrometry |
  prop_mo_ra=547<ref name=simbad /> |
  prop_mo_dec=-1182<ref name=simbad /> |
  parallax=36 |
  parallax_footnote=<ref name=simbad /> |
  p_error=5  }}
{{Starbox detail
 | mass        = {{nowrap|0.77}}<ref name=whiteDwarfs30Parsecs>{{cite journal|arxiv=1204.2570|doi=10.1111/j.1745-3933.2012.01271.x|title=11-12 Gyr old white dwarfs 30 pc away|year=2012|last1=Kilic|first1=Mukremin|last2=Thorstensen|first2=John R.|last3=Kowalski|first3=P. M.|last4=Andrews|first4=J.|s2cid=117577867|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters|volume=423|issue=1|pages=L132–L136|bibcode=2012MNRAS.423L.132K}}</ref>
 | radius      = {{nowrap|0.011 ± 0.001}}<ref name=newTemp/>
 | temperature = {{nowrap|3,800 ± 100}}<ref name=newTemp/>
 | age_gyr     = 11 - 12 <ref name=newTemp/>
}}
{{Starbox catalog |
  names=WD&nbsp;0346+246, WD&nbsp;J0346+249<ref name=simbad /> }}
{{Starbox reference
|Simbad=WD+0346%2B246
}}
{{Starbox end}}

'''WD 0346+246''' is a [[Astronomy:White dwarf|white dwarf]] in the [[Astronomy:Ecliptic|ecliptic]] [[Astronomy:Constellation|constellation]] of [[Astronomy:Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]]. It was discovered in 1997 when examination of photographs taken for a survey of [[Astronomy:Brown dwarf|brown dwarf]]s in the [[Astronomy:Pleiades|Pleiades]] revealed a faint star with high [[Astronomy:Proper motion|proper motion]]. It is one of the coolest white dwarfs known, with an [[Astronomy:Effective temperature|effective temperature]] estimated to be approximately 3900 K equaling to a spectral type of M0.<ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997ApJ...489L.157H WD 0346+246: A Very Low Luminosity, Cool Degenerate in Taurus], N. C. Hambly, S. J. Smartt, and S. Hodgkin, ''Astrophysical Journal Letters'' '''489''' (November 1997), pp. L157&ndash;L160.</ref>

Recent studies using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and MDM Observatory's 2.4-meter telescope (near Tucson, Arizona, USA) shows that this white dwarf (together with another one: SDSS J110217, 48+411315.4) has a low (for white dwarfs) surface temperature between 3700 and 3800 K due to it being 11 to 12 billion years old.
<ref name=newTemp>http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/12_Billion_Year_Old_White_Dwarf_Stars_Only_100_Light_Years_Away_999.html</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Stars of Taurus}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:WD 0346+246}}
[[Category:Taurus (constellation)]]
[[Category:White dwarfs]]



{{Sourceattribution|WD 0346+246|1}}