What is the final, dense remnant core left after a Red Giant sheds its outer layers via a planetary nebula?
Answer
White dwarf
The evolutionary track for low- or intermediate-mass stars, such as the Sun, culminates when the star becomes unstable and sheds its expansive outer atmosphere. This ejected material forms a glowing shell of gas known as a planetary nebula. The object remaining at the center after this mass loss is a small, extremely hot, and dense core called a white dwarf. This remnant is sustained not by ongoing fusion, but solely by the residual heat it possesses, which it will radiate away slowly, theorized to eventually cool into a black dwarf over immense timescales.
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