The Fate of Rocky Planets Near Stars Unveiled by Astronomers.

Astronomers have found a way to use the rings of dust surrounding stars where planets should be to understand some of the most mysterious and hard to detect planets in the universe. These rings of dust are actually rocky planets in the process of being obliterated due to their proximity to their parent star. The team of researchers released a paper detailing simulations of how this process could unfold and found that these small worlds are caught between two extremes. Additionally, the debris trails can give us important clues as to rocky planetary formation. Follow-up observations with the James Webb Space telescope are advocated to study these systems in detail to understand what these rocky planets were made of.