Double Debris Disk Orbiting a Dead Star Hints at Our Solar System's Future
The stable double debris disc may be shaped by two surviving rocky bodies, with one ring rich in magnesium and the other lacking it.
- Astronomers recently discovered white dwarf J1328-1450, located 1,600 light-years away, surrounded by two separate rings of glowing gas instead of the usual single ring.
- While researchers have cataloged 21 gaseous debris disks around white dwarfs, every known example previously featured a single ring, making this double-ring system unprecedented.
- Researchers suggest two surviving planetesimals maintain these rings; only the inner disc shows magnesium, indicating the asteroid-sized inner object and Pluto-sized outer body are composed of different material.
- Published in Nature Astronomy, the study provides "a rare glimpse of the violent, chaotic process by which a planetary system meets its end," astronomer Nicola Gentile Fusillo said.
- Co-Author Felipe Lagos-Vilches noted the findings hint "dead stars can have disc structures far more complex than previously realised," offering insight into the future of planetary systems like our own.
58 Articles
58 Articles
A Newly Discovered Trail of Cosmic Debris Illustrates How the End of the Solar System Could Look
A dying star 1,600 light-years from Earth is surrounded by two rings of gas and dust that astronomers believe are the remnants of the planetary bodies it once hosted.
A disc of planetary debris detected around a dead star by a team of astronomers could announce what will happen in billions of years.
Astronomers have discovered two “zombie planets”, which are in the ruins of their system around the star, which has become a white dwarf. Their formation indicated a field of debris around the “dead star” J1328−1450, which is located about 1600 light years from us, Space.com reports. According to scientists' estimates, the dimensions of one fragment can be compared with a typical asteroid of the solar system, and the second - vary between the di…
Cosmic graveyard of zombie planets offers a grisly warning about our own solar system's fate
Two zombie exoplanets that rose from the grave to shuffle through the gory remains of their fellow planets may just agree with these immortal words from horror maestro Stephen King.
Is this our solar system’s future? Scientists spot disk around dead star
Researchers have discovered a white dwarf surrounded by a debris disk with 2 separate rings. It offers a possible glimpse of our solar system's future. The post Is this our solar system’s future? Scientists spot disk around dead star first appeared on EarthSky.
All the preconceived notions the scientific world held about the future of the Solar System have been overturned. A recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals that the primary factor leading to the system's collapse will not be external influences, but rather the Sun's own uncontrolled death process.
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