Old Hubble data point to a possible planet formed around a dying star
If confirmed, the find would be the first evidence of a second-generation planet and suggests such worlds can persist around white dwarfs.
A University of Warwick-led team says old Hubble data from the white dwarf HS 0209+0832 point to a second-generation planet, a result that would be the first of its kind if confirmed. The group rechecked 1999 observations against a newer chemical database and matched previously unexplained spectral features to niobium. They report niobium at about 1,000 times the level found in the Sun, which they say fits material forged in a dying star and later assembled into a planet. The system’s white dwarf is still hot enough to strip the planet’s outer layers, but the researchers think it should remain in the white dwarf’s habitable zone for millions of years.
Why it matters
The result matters because it links a white dwarf system to a planet that may have formed after the star died, not before. The team’s reading of the data also suggests the planet could stay in the white dwarf’s habitable zone for millions of years, even while the star is hot enough to strip its outer layers. That makes the system a test case for how long a planet born from stellar debris can remain intact and observable.
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Sources
- Engadget