Stars are never green.
When a star's spectra "peaks" in the green range, it also releases a significant number of waves of the adjacent colors - so "green" stars appear yellow or white.
I want a green star anyways.
How can such a star come about if they do not exist that way in nature (as far as we know)? What natural circumstances would change the appearance or composition of a star in this way (so that it emits green light)?
You can
- Have elements or molecules outside the star (exotic if you wish) as long as they are stable wherever you put them and can as long as they can form naturally in real life.
- Change the composition of the star itself with (exotic if you wish) matter as long as it is stable and produces the desired effects
- Provide a solution that will eventually change the star's color when the starit expands
- Provide a somewhat speculative explanation but it should be based in real science
- Have the star "capture" whatever makes it green after formation or have it form with this quality in the first place
You cannot
- Simply change the atmosphere of a nearby planet so it looks green; it should appear green(ish) from space
- Change the eyes of creatures viewing it; assume human eyes
- Have intelligent intervention; all circumstances should be possible in nature (rare is fine)
- Change the laws of physics or the characteristics of light
- Create the illusion of green color from either an actual binary or an optical binary; this star should be standalone
- Create the illusion of green color from movement of the star / color shift
Edit: Most current answers are acceptible, and I have one in mind to accept, but I wouldn't mind a different approach - changing the composition of the star instead of the adjacent material. The one I accept likely won't change but many of the ideas presented now are similar.