What remnant results after a Red Giant sheds its outer atmosphere via a planetary nebula?

Answer

A white dwarf.

When a star similar in mass to the Sun evolves into a red giant, its life cycle is relatively constrained due to insufficient gravitational power to sustain fusion beyond certain lighter elements. After exhausting its core helium, the star can no longer generate the energy required to counteract gravity effectively enough to ignite subsequent heavier elements like carbon in the core. Consequently, the outer, expanded atmosphere is gently expelled over time, forming an expanding shell of gas beautifully termed a planetary nebula. The object left behind at the center is the extremely hot, dense, and inert stellar core—the white dwarf. This remnant slowly radiates away its residual heat over immense timescales, eventually cooling down completely.

What remnant results after a Red Giant sheds its outer atmosphere via a planetary nebula?

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