Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion Podcast March 10, 2020

In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we look at a massive white dwarf that may be the product of an ancient collision between stars. We also examine a new idea of dark matter – the mysterious mass holding galaxies together – before heading to Mars for a new discovery – as well as a stunning image of the Martian landscape – from the Curiosity rover. Finally, we wrap up the show with a look at Betelgeuse, and new studies looking at whether or not this red giant star is on the verge of exploding as a supernova.<br/><br/>The Curiosity rover recently returned its most-detailed panorama ever of the Martian landscape (<a href="https://thecosmiccompanion.net/mars-curiosity-panorama/">click here for full photo</a>). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS <br/><br/>A team of astronomers from the University of Warwick have discovered an <a href="https://medium.com/the-cosmic-companion/stars-collided-to-create-ultramassive-white-dwarf-71845c9c4d05?source=friends_link&#38;sk=655927a291f9c26237fd6564f9c3c9f2">ultramassive white dwarf</a> surrounded by a carbon-rich atmosphere. The star was first found in data from the Gaia space telescope, and the atmosphere was examined using the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands.<br/><br/>This behemoth of a white dwarf, they determined, is the product of the collision of a pair of smaller white dwarf stars. This finding could lead to a new understanding of white dwarfs and how they form and evolve over time.<br/><br/>Dark matter cannot be seen, but it makes up a far larger portion of the Universe than all stars, planets, gas clouds, and black holes combined. It is because of dark matter that galaxies do not fly apart as they spin. <br/><br/>Still, astronomers know little about the ultimate nature of this mysterious mass. A new study from the University of York suggests strange subatomic particles called <a href="https://medium.com/the-cosmic-companion/could-dark-matter-be-the-d-star-hexaquark-d10a65916f0f?source=friends_link&#38;sk=d58faee79dc2cbaf