What will our solar system look like after the Sun dies? This is what a recent study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated how a white dwarf star is consuming an icy and rocky exoplanet in a far-off solar system. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of solar systems and what this could mean for our own solar system in the future.
For the study, the researchers used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to observe and analyze WD 1647+375, which is a white dwarf located approximately 260 light-years from Earth. More specifically, HST observed WD 1647+375 consuming a Pluto-like exoplanet, the latter of which is comprised of nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur. Additionally, it contains similar chemical compositions to our solar system’s Kuiper belt objects (KBOs), specifically being water-rich.
“We were surprised,” said Dr. Snehalata Sahu, who is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Warwick and lead author of the study. “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."
Artist's illustration of a Pluto-like exolanet being consumed by a white dwarf. (Credit: NASA, Tim Pyle (NASA/JPL-Caltech))
Billions of years from now, our Sun will deplete its hydrogen fuel, growing into a massive star, eventually shedding its outer helium layer to become a white dwarf. While these stars are approximately the size of Earth, they are incredibly dense and do not produce nuclear fusion. Therefore, studies like this can help shed light on the future of our solar system and how it will evolve billions of years from now.
What new discoveries about white dwarfs and solar systems will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, EurekAlert!
