Scientists See How Earth Will Eventually Die, After Dead Planet Smashes Into Dead Star
Most stars end their life-cycles as white dwarfs - becoming cores roughly the same size as Earth. When any star runs out of fuel, it begins to collapse into itself - becoming a red giant before an explosion dims it
In case you didn't get the memo, space is violent. A ruthless catalyst of constant activity, the entire web of cosmos is stuck in a cycle of birth and death - much like humans. Now, astronomers saw a dead planet smash into a dead star for the first time ever, a preview of what could happen in our solar system 7 billion years from now.
Scientists and enthusiasts alike have been fascinated by what becomes of entire solar systems after the central star (like our Sun) dies out. Turns out, when planets become lifeless bodies, they accrete into stars.
University of Warwick/Mark Garlick
First evidence of stars absorbing planets
"This detection provides the first direct evidence that white dwarfs are currently accreting the remnants of old planetary systems," study's lead author, Tim Cunningham, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Warwick said in a statement.
"Probing accretion in this way¡ [offers] a glimpse into the likely fate of the thousands of known exoplanetary systems, including our own Solar system," Cunningham added.
Also read: Hubble Captures Bizarre Black Hole Helping Birth Sun-Like Stars Far Away
Most stars end their life-cycles as white dwarfs - becoming cores roughly the same size as Earth. When any star runs out of fuel, it begins to collapse into itself - becoming a red giant before an explosion dims it. This process consumes whatever falls in its path. When all the gases are expelled, a white dwarf remains.
NASA
These corpses of planets either remain locked in orbit or slowly become part of the dwarf. For this study, scientists used the Chandra X-ray telescope, focusing it on the nearby white dwarf G29-39 situated about 45 light-years away.
Also read: Earth Surrounded By A 'Bubble' Of Baby Stars From Cosmic Explosions, Say Scientists
With the temperatures touching 1 million degree Celsius, scientists concluded that it was absorbing remains of planets.
Tigtag
Did you know that planets smash into stars sometimes after their death? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
References
Specktor, B. (2022, February 9). Astronomers watched a dead planet smash into a dead star for first time ever. Livescience.Com.
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