A giant exoplanet managed to survive the death of its star

Scientists have discovered a giant exoplanet that appears to have escaped the death of its star, which is currently orbiting a white dwarf.

as white dwarfs It is the final process of stars becoming so dense that their mass and size match that of the Sun with that of the Earth. So it is expected that, during this process, the nearest planets will eventually be destroyed. But now, the site tells IFLScienceTo tell the story, a team of scientists have found a planet that appears to have survived.

The planet in question orbits a white dwarf has about 53% The mass of our Sun, about 1.4 times the mass of Jupiter and located 420 million km from its star (in the Solar System, this is approximately the distance between the Sun and the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest asteroid body. Belt).

It always seems possible that planetary systems that have survived these dramatic stages of stellar evolution in white dwarfs are possible. After all, planets that survived more catastrophic events, such as supernovae, have been found.

But until now, astronomers have only been able to find evidence of planetary destruction or destruction asteroid belts. They also expected to find planets very far away, and not very close (relatively).

Given that 97% of the Milky Way’s stars are expected to follow this path, it’s important to understand what might happen to their planetary systems. It is estimated that half of the white dwarfs have companions the size of Jupiter. This is the first, now described in the study published Wednesday in the scientific journal temper nature.

As the site itself recalls, the planetary system and other systems to be discovered are a window into the future of the solar system. This is because when the sun turns into a red giant, it is expected Mercury and Venus are destroyed (Even Earth and Mars would have little chance of surviving.)