British astrophysicists said they have found evidence of planetary
material in the orbit of a white dwarf for the first time, a discovery
that may provide clues to how our own solar system will end billions of
years from now.
The team at Britain's Warwick University identified an unusual ring
of metal-rich gas orbiting very close around a white dwarf, a former
star, about 463 light years from our solar system in the constellation
Virgo.
"This is very direct evidence that white dwarfs have planetary
systems around them," said Tom Marsh, professor of experimental physics
at Warwick University.
A white dwarf begins as a star similar to our sun. Late in life, the
star swells into a red giant, probably destroying any inner planets at
orbits such as those of Mercury and Venus, and pushing out other
planets and asteroids to a more distant orbit than before.
The suggestion is that our planets could collapse in this way in the
distant future. "It's like a glimpse into the future of our solar
system," said Marsh.
The study is published in the journal Science.
