Unusual star may be supernova debris Type Ia supernovae occur when a white dwarf star is completely destroyed in a thermonuclear explosion. Recently, another class of supernova has been found, dubbed type Iax; these look like type Ia but are much fainter and may be the result of only partial destruction of a white dwarf. In support of this notion, Vennes et al. found a white dwarf star in our Galaxy that is low-mass, is moving quickly, and has an unusual composition. These properties suggest that it could be the predicted leftover remains from a type Iax supernova. Science , this issue p. 680