All About Space

POSSIBLE EARTHLIKE PLANET IN A DEAD STAR’S HABITABLE ZONE

Planetary debris, including some objects the size of moons, may hint at a rocky exoplanet within the habitable zone of a stellar zombie. The star in question is a white dwarf called WD 1054–226, a cooling remnant of a star that exhausted all the fuel at its core. If an exoplanet is confirmed in the system, it would be a breakthrough for white dwarf science. Only one other planet has been discovered to date orbiting a white dwarf. That planet, however, is a gas giant –a planet similar to Jupiter – and is not near the habitable zone, usually defined as

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