Young astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar presented his results on electron degeneracy pressure and the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star to a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society #OTD in 1935.

This maximum mass is now known as the "Chandrasekhar Limit." It is about 1.4 M☉, or 3 x 10³⁰ kg.

Below this mass a spent star settles down into a stable white dwarf. More massive stars continue to collapse, eventually becoming neutron stars or black holes.

Photo: Getty Images

@mcnees That's the mass of a stable remnant WD core not the progenitor star's mass limit.