The dead star that destroys a planetary system

star that destroys a planetary system

We know that the universe is continually expanding and that creation and destruction of stars and star systems are occurring. Scientists have found a dead star that is destroying a planetary system. This finding has impressed the entire scientific community.

Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you everything you need to know about the discovery of the dead star that is destroying a planetary system.

Dead star destroying a planetary system

White dwarf

UCLA astronomers have discovered a white dwarf star that is eating rocky, icy materials. It has been observed that the star, which It is 86 light years from Earth., absorbs debris from both outside and inside the system. Only previous cases of cosmic cannibalism have shown a star gobbling up material from outside its system, but this white dwarf is eating material from both inside and outside the system, suggesting it could be destroying its entire star system.

Paper co-author Ted Johnson, a UCLA physics and astronomy student, said they hope to gain a better understanding of solar systems by studying these white dwarfs. The star G238-44, which is close to our Sun, has eaten other stars, according to data from the Hubble Space Telescope and other NASA telescopes. Evidence and conclusions were drawn based on analysis of material that captured the star's nearby atmosphere.

When a star like our Sun runs out of fuel, it collapses into a white dwarf star, which is usually very dense and the size of a planet. Stars burn hydrogen in their cores, but when they run out of hydrogen, they burn helium in their core. When a star does this, it can grow large enough to swallow its closest planet. As the star ages, can become a white dwarf.

The time that the star is undergoing this massive change, which it can last 100 million years, it can be very dangerous for nearby planets. UCLA astronomers have observed a white dwarf devouring comets and asteroids. The star, located 86 light-years from Earth, is gobbling up material from both inside and outside its system. A team of astronomers from the University of California Los Angeles (USA) has observed a white dwarf star that is eating asteroids and comets. The star is absorbing matter from both the outer and inner parts of its system, making it the first time two separate types of celestial objects have been seen clustered together in a white dwarf star at the same time.

Research

universe

Ted Johnson hopes that by studying these white dwarfs we can gain a better understanding of the planetary systems that still exist. The Hubble Space Telescope and other NASA observatories helped astronomers identify the first case of cosmic cannibalism in which a white dwarf star ate both icy material and rocky-metallic material. This happened when an asteroid or a body similar to objects found in the Kuiper belt (the circumstellar disk of the outer solar system, which is outside the orbit of Neptune but close to the surface of our stars) merged with the White dwarf.

This discovery was made by analyzing gas that had been captured by the stars' atmosphere. The white dwarf star formed when a smaller star, like our suns, ran out of nuclear fuel. Stars burn their fuel very slowly, using hydrogen in their core. When they run out of hydrogen, they can use helium in their core to continue fusing. When a star swells up and devours its nearest planet, it is old and nearing the end of its life.

formation of white dwarfs

The oldest stars eventually become white dwarfs. The Kuiper belt is a region full of icy objects, like Arrokoth. Beyond Neptune's orbit lies the asteroid belt, and beyond that, the rocky planets. If our solar system were going through its transformation period (which lasts about 100 million years), the future white dwarf star would be feeding on the remains of these planets, as well as the asteroids of the asteroid belt.

The discovery of this case of celestial cannibalism is interesting because it not only illustrates this star transition from our solar system, but because these asteroids and comets are believed to have collided with Earth billions of years ago, bringing water to our planet, creating ideal living conditions. UCLA professor Benjamin Zuckerman and other researchers have discovered that a white dwarf star has elements such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, indicating that the star once had a rocky, volatile-rich parent body. The researchers conclude that this is the first example found in the hundreds of white dwarfs they studied.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the dead star that destroys a planetary system.


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