Vol. 638
7. Stellar structure and evolution

An in-depth reanalysis of the alleged type Ia supernova progenitor Henize 2-428

The planetary nebula Hen 2-428 was reported in 2015 to have a double degenerate core with an orbital period of 4.2 hours and, more excitingly, a combined mass of 1.76Msun, which is above the Chandrasekhar mass limit. The period and the mass imply that the system should merge in 700 million years and trigger in a type Ia supernova event. Reindl et al. most recently carried out an in-depth reanalysis of the alleged type Ia progenitor. They show that blends of He II λ 5412 Angstrom with DIBs resulted in an overestimation of the previously reported mass. The new total mass of the double degenerates is 1.08 Msun, a measurement that no longer exceeds the Chandrasekhar mass limit.