Compose and Comprise

I have written about both of these words in the past (look them up in the search box in the upper right) but I found both of them in the same sentence, and they’re both correct! Couldn’t pass it up.

Whereas typical white dwarfs comprise carbon and oxygen, these stars are mostly composed of neon. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/zombie-stars-shine-on-after-mystery-detonations/

—In a Scientific American article, naturally. They’re usually pretty good about getting these things right.

Remember the rules:

• Comprise goes from the whole to a list of parts
• Composed of goes from parts to the whole
• Never use “comprised of”! It’s a pretentiousism.

I like pictures, so here’s one from the article. The sentence refers to the single-pixel white spot in the middle of the donut. Look closely.

PS—For you picky, detail-oriented editors out there—The sentence refers to the dwarf star represented by the single-pixel white spot.