[NEWS] Five D-Brief links: white dwarfs, FRBs, Barnard's Star b, AT2018cow, termites

[rfmcdonald]

• A new study by astronomers suggests that white dwarfs evolve over eons as they cool into immense crystals. D-Brief reports.


• Canadian astronomers have found a second mysterious repeating fast radio burst. D-Brief reports.


• Subsurface environments suitable for life could conceivably exist at Barnard's Star b. D-Brief reports.


• Astronomers observing the mysterious AT2018cow event in nearby dwarf galaxy CGCG 137-068t may have witnessed the formation of a compact object, a black hole or a neutron star. D-Brief reports.


• The turning of the earth wrought by termite hives in tropical rainforests may help protect these environments from drought. D-Brief reports.