All articles tagged with #planetary destruction
Astronomers observed a white dwarf star consuming the remains of a shattered planet, revealing insights into planetary system evolution and offering a glimpse of our own Solar System's distant future, with implications for understanding exoplanet composition and long-term planetary dynamics.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope observed a white dwarf star, WD 1647+375, consuming fragments of an icy, Pluto-like object, providing insights into planetary destruction and the presence of water and volatiles in space, with implications for understanding the future of our solar system.
A study of white dwarf stars suggests that even if the Earth survives the Sun's red giant phase, it may one day be torn apart by the solar corpse due to the intense gravitational field around white dwarfs. Observations of three white dwarfs show changes in brightness attributed to objects being devoured, releasing bursts of dust. The study indicates that a few percent of white dwarfs are disintegrating debris at any time, suggesting it is a common process. If the Earth survives, it will face the risk of being torn apart during the white dwarf stage, making its chances of evading the fate uncertain.