NASA’s Hubble Telescope spots white dwarf consuming Pluto-like feature
A white dwarf is a burned-out star that has exhausted its fuel and expelled its outer layers.
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NASA says its Hubble Space Telescope has captured evidence of a white dwarf star consuming the remnants of a Pluto-like object - a scenario that may predict what will happen to planets in our own solar system in the distant future.
By using Hubble’s ultraviolet capabilities, astronomers say they were able to detect nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur and carbon in the remnants, located about 260 light-years away from Earth.
White dwarfs are the dense, burned-out cores left behind after giant stars exhaust their nuclear fuel.
This particular white dwarf, named WD 1647+375, is estimated to contain about half the Sun’s mass and is compressed into roughly the size of Earth.
"We were surprised," Snehalata Sahu of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. "We did not expect to find water or other icy content. This is because the comets and Kuiper Belt-like objects are thrown out of their planetary systems early, as their stars evolve into white dwarfs. But here, we are detecting this very volatile-rich material. This is surprising for astronomers studying white dwarfs as well as exoplanets, planets outside our solar system."
SEE THE OBJECTS HUMANS LEFT BEHIND ON THE MOON
An artist concept showing a white dwarf surrounded by debris.
(NASA)
Astronomers say that when our Sun becomes a white dwarf billions of years from now, its gravity may also pull in large objects, such as planets, and tear them apart.
"These planetesimals will then be disrupted and accreted," Sahu stated. "If an alien observer looks into our solar system in the far future, they might see the same kind of remains we see today around this white dwarf."
Boris Gänsicke, of the University of Warwick, who was involved in Hubble program that produced the discovery, said that a survey of more than 500 white dwarfs has provided valuable insights into planetary remains.
"We’ve already learned so much about the building blocks and fragments of planets, but I’ve been absolutely thrilled that we now identified a system that resembles the objects in the frigid outer edges of our solar system," Gänsicke stated. "Measuring the composition of an exo-Pluto is an important contribution toward our understanding of the formation and evolution of these bodies."
The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed into operation in 1990 and was the first major U.S. telescope in space.
Human and robotic interventions have prolonged its life well beyond its intended schedule.
NASA’s James Webb Telescope joined the Hubble in late 2021 and is expected to be used to continue to investigate molecular features using infrared light, which could reveal how water and other compounds are spread through outer space.
Hubble in Earth's orbit.
(NASA / FOX Weather)