WD [FORMULA][F]0346+246[/F][/FORMULA]: A Very Low Luminosity, Cool Degenerate in Taurus

1 January 1997

journal article
research article
Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astrophysical Journal

Vol. 489 (2) , L157-L160
https://doi.org/10.1086/316797

Abstract

We report the serendipitous discovery of a new, very low luminosity, cool degenerate in the region of Taurus. The object was found as a very high proper-motion star (μ = 13 yr^-1) on seven I-band UK Schmidt Telescope plates, dating from 1987 to 1994, via digitized scans from the new, fast, high-precision microdensitometer SuperCOSMOS. Photometry and spectrophotometry indicate that the object has a temperature comparable to those of the handful of coolest white dwarfs currently known (T~3900 K). We discuss the relevance of this discovery to current research concerning Galactic structure and evolution.

Keywords

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