Scientists using NASA’s repurposed Kepler space telescope,
known as the K2 mission, have uncovered strong evidence of a tiny, rocky
object being torn apart as it spirals around a white dwarf star. This
discovery validates a long-held theory that white dwarfs are capable of
cannibalizing possible remnant planets that have survived within its
solar system.
“We are for the first time witnessing a miniature “planet” ripped apart by intense gravity, being vaporized by starlight and raining rocky material onto its star,” said Andrew Vanderburg, graduate student from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and lead author of the paper published in Nature.
As stars like our sun age, they puff up into red giants and then gradually lose about half their mass, shrinking down to 1/100th of their original size to roughly the size of Earth. This dead, dense star remnant is called a white dwarf.
The devastated planetesimal, or cosmic object formed from dust, rock, and other materials, is estimated to be the size of a large asteroid, and is the first planetary object to be confirmed transiting a white dwarf. It orbits its white dwarf, WD 1145+017, once every 4.5 hours. This orbital period places it extremely close to the white dwarf and its searing heat and shearing gravitational force.
During its first observing campaign from May 30, 2014 to Aug. 21, 2014, K2 trained its gaze on a patch of sky in the constellation Virgo, measuring the minuscule change in brightness of the distant white dwarf. When an object transits or passes in front of a star from the vantage point of the space telescope, a dip in starlight is recorded. The periodic dimming of starlight indicates the presence of an object in orbit about the star.
A research team led by Vanderburg found an unusual, but vaguely
familiar pattern in the data. While there was a prominent dip in
brightness occurring every 4.5 hours, blocking up to 40 percent of the
white dwarf's light, the transit signal of the tiny planet did not
exhibit the typical symmetric U-shaped pattern. It showed an asymmetric
elongated slope pattern that would indicate the presence of a comet-like
tail. Together these features indicated a ring of dusty debris circling
the white dwarf, and what could be the signature of a small planet
being vaporized.
“The eureka moment of discovery came on the last night of observation with a sudden realization of what was going around the white dwarf. The shape and changing depth of the transit were undeniable signatures,” said Vanderburg.
In addition to the strangely shaped transits, Vanderburg and his team found signs of heavier elements polluting the atmosphere of WD 1145+017, as predicted by theory.
Due to intense gravity, white dwarfs are expected to have chemically pure surfaces, covered only with light elements of helium and hydrogen. For years, researchers have found evidence that some white dwarf atmospheres are polluted with traces of heavier elements such as calcium, silicon, magnesium and iron. Scientists have long suspected that the source of this pollution was an asteroid or a small planet being torn apart by the white dwarf's intense gravity.
Analysis of the star's atmospheric composition was conducted using observations made by the University of Arizona's MMT Observatory.
Read more here:http://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasa-k2-finds-dead-star-vaporizing-mini-planet
“We are for the first time witnessing a miniature “planet” ripped apart by intense gravity, being vaporized by starlight and raining rocky material onto its star,” said Andrew Vanderburg, graduate student from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and lead author of the paper published in Nature.
In this artist’s conception, a tiny rocky object
vaporizes as it orbits a white dwarf star. Astronomers have detected the
first planetary object transiting a white dwarf using data from the K2
mission. Slowly the object will disintegrate, leaving a dusting of
metals on the surface of the star.
Credits: CfA/Mark A. Garlick
The devastated planetesimal, or cosmic object formed from dust, rock, and other materials, is estimated to be the size of a large asteroid, and is the first planetary object to be confirmed transiting a white dwarf. It orbits its white dwarf, WD 1145+017, once every 4.5 hours. This orbital period places it extremely close to the white dwarf and its searing heat and shearing gravitational force.
During its first observing campaign from May 30, 2014 to Aug. 21, 2014, K2 trained its gaze on a patch of sky in the constellation Virgo, measuring the minuscule change in brightness of the distant white dwarf. When an object transits or passes in front of a star from the vantage point of the space telescope, a dip in starlight is recorded. The periodic dimming of starlight indicates the presence of an object in orbit about the star.
The diagram depicts a model of light curve shapes.
The red line indicates the symmetric shape of a hypothetical Earth-size
planet transit while the blue line is the asymmetric shape of the tiny
disintegrating planet and its comet-like trailing dusty tail. The black
dots are measurements recorded by the K2 mission of WD 1145+017.
Credits: CfA/A. Vanderburg
“The eureka moment of discovery came on the last night of observation with a sudden realization of what was going around the white dwarf. The shape and changing depth of the transit were undeniable signatures,” said Vanderburg.
In addition to the strangely shaped transits, Vanderburg and his team found signs of heavier elements polluting the atmosphere of WD 1145+017, as predicted by theory.
Due to intense gravity, white dwarfs are expected to have chemically pure surfaces, covered only with light elements of helium and hydrogen. For years, researchers have found evidence that some white dwarf atmospheres are polluted with traces of heavier elements such as calcium, silicon, magnesium and iron. Scientists have long suspected that the source of this pollution was an asteroid or a small planet being torn apart by the white dwarf's intense gravity.
Analysis of the star's atmospheric composition was conducted using observations made by the University of Arizona's MMT Observatory.
Read more here:http://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasa-k2-finds-dead-star-vaporizing-mini-planet
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