White Dwarf

A shock! Our stellar knowledge is undone?
A star, while dim, was white. Both small and hot?
A contradiction: mass much like our Sun,
All crammed into the size of Earth, a dot.

When fuel is spent, the outer shell will sprawl.
The core of carbon and atomic eight,
Becomes a stable dwarf if mass is small;
A supernova burst if mass is great.

With fusion stopped, it won't produce compounds.
The spectrum of their light assessed informs,
The lighter gasses of the star surrounds.
While slowly cooling, cubic crystal forms.

Forever darker: black the final stage.
None now exist: too young the proton's age.