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2017_EJRNL_PP_THOMAS_MARSH_1.pdf
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Seven billion years from now1, the Sun will evolve into a dense, Earth-sized remnant known as a white dwarf, adding to the billion others that already litter our Galaxy. Many white dwarfs are bound by gravity to other stars, some in such close orbits that they strip mass from their companions. This matter settles onto the white dwarf ’s surface through a process termed accretion. We thought we knew the main modes of accretion onto white dwarfs, but on page 210, Scaringi et al.2 report that there might be another — one that links white dwarfs to other accreting celestial objects, such as neutron stars.