Astronomers are discovering the oldest debris in the universe and our galaxy — the remnants of a destroyed solar system.

 

Artist’s impression of the old white dwarfs WDJ2147–4035 and WDJ1922+0233 surrounded by orbiting planetary debris, which will accrete onto the stars and pollute their atmospheres. WDJ2147–4035 is extremely red and dim, while WDJ1922+0233 is unusually blue. Credit: University of Warwick/Dr. Mark Garlick

A new study depresses white dwarf stars that are more than 10 billion years old
The recent collapse of the orbiting planets makes this the oldest dead star with an open planetary system.

𝔍𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔚𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔩𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔱𝔬𝔬𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔡𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔰𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔣𝔱. ℑ𝔫 𝔞𝔡𝔡𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔠𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔠𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔰, 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔫 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔲𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔶, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔭 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔰. piotrmak | Instagram | Linktree

Provides insight into the formation and evolution of asteroids, moons, and rocky planets during the early history of the universe.
Astronomers have discovered the oldest star in our galaxy that is collecting debris from orbiting planets, making it one of the oldest planetary systems in the world. rocks and ice have been found in the Milky Way.

Their findings concluded that a faint white dwarf that is only 90 years from Earth, along with the remnants of its orbiting planetary system, has passed away for more than 10 billion years. Led by the University of Warwick, the study was published on November 5 in the Monthly Bulletin of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Many stars, including those like our Sun, will eventually become white dwarfs. A white dwarf is a star that has used up all its fuel, lost its surface, and is now in the process of cooling down. All orbiting planets will be disrupted and, in some cases, destroyed during this process, and their debris will be left to accumulate on the surface of the white dwarf. For this study, a team of astronomers photographed two rare white dwarfs discovered by the European Space Agency’s GAIA space probe. Both stars are polluted by debris. One of them turned out to be incredibly blue, while the other was the strongest and reddest ever found in the galactic region. Another study was conducted by a group of scientists. Astronomers used spectroscopic and photometric data from GAIA, the dark energy probe and the European Southern Observatory’s X-Shooter instrument to calculate how long the star cooled. They found that the “red” star WDJ2147–4035 is about 10.7 billion years old, of which 10.2 billion years it is as cool as a white dwarf. Spectroscopy involves examining starlight at different levels. This can detect when objects in the sky absorb light of different colors and help identify objects. By analyzing the spectrum of WDJ2147–4035, the team discovered the presence of metals sodium, lithium and potassium and found that carbon is building up in the star, making it the oldest metal-contaminated white dwarf. discovered to date.

𝔍𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔚𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔩𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔱𝔬𝔬𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔡𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔰𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔣𝔱. ℑ𝔫 𝔞𝔡𝔡𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔠𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔠𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔰, 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔫 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔲𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔶, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔭 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔰. piotrmak | Instagram | Linktree

The second “blue” star WDJ1922+0233 is smaller than WDJ2147–4035 and is contaminated by planetary debris similar to its composition on Earth’s continents. The scientific team concluded that the blue color of WDJ1922+0233, although it is hot on the surface, is caused by a rare atmosphere of helium and hydrogen.
Fragments in the nearly pure, high-gravity helium atmosphere of the red star WDJ2147–4035 are from an ancient planetary system that survived the evolution of stars into white dwarfs, leading astronomers to Machines conclude that it is the oldest planetary system around the world. A white dwarf discovered in the Milky Way. Lead author Abbigail Elms, a PhD student in the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick, said: “These metal-contaminated stars show that Earth is not unique, there are other planetary systems with planetary bodies. similar to Earth. 97% of all stars will become white dwarfs and they are everywhere in the sky and it is very important to understand them, especially the very good ones. Derived from the oldest stars in our galaxy, cool dwarfs provide insight into the formation and evolution of planetary systems around the oldest stars in the Milky Way.

“We see almost all the oldest stars in the Milky Way that were once contaminated by Earth-like planets. It is amazing to think that this happened in about ten billion years, and these planets died long before the earth was created.

Astronomers can also use star films to determine how quickly these metals enter the star, allowing them to look back in time and determine the abundance of these metals on Earth. first. By comparing the abundances of these elements in celestial bodies with the abundances of planets in our own solar system, we can learn what these planets would have been like before the star died and became a white dwarf — but n ‘about WDJ2147–4035, it turned out. strong.

𝔍𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔚𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔩𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔱𝔬𝔬𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔡𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔰𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔣𝔱. ℑ𝔫 𝔞𝔡𝔡𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔠𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔠𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔰, 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔫 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔲𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔶, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔭 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔰. piotrmak | Instagram | Linktree

Abbigail explains: “The red star WDJ2147–4035 is a mystery because the debris accumulated on the planet is extremely rich in lithium and potassium, unlike anything known. in our own solar system. It is a white dwarf that is very interesting because its very hot climate, the metals that pollute it, its age and the fact that it is magnetic, make it rare.

Professor Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay from the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick said: “When these ancient stars formed more than 10 billion years ago, the universe was much less rich than it is now, because and metals form in the stars that are formed. and big star explosions. The two visible white dwarfs provide a fascinating window into planetary formation in a metal-poor, gas-rich environment that differs from the conditions when the solar system began.

Reference: “Spectral analysis of ultra-cool white dwarfs polluted by planetary debris” by Abbigail K Elms, Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay, Boris T Gänsicke, Detlev Koester, Mark A Hollands, Nicola Pietro Gentile Fusillo, Tim Cunningham and Kevin Apps, 5 November 2022, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac2908

This research received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, the Leverhulme Trust Grant and the UK STFC consolidated grant.