Astonishing Theory: Even Dying Stars Could Create New Planets

Astonishing Theory: Even Dying Stars Could Create New Planets

There are so many destructive forces in the Universe. More than you can imagine, and we all have to be thankful that Earth is located in a pretty safe region. But there are also plenty of creative forces out there.

There seems to be an endless cycle of creation and destruction in the Universe. The very process of creation is as fascinating as it can be, and astronomers have a new reason to think likewise.

It all lies in the protoplanetary disk 

The protoplanetary disk is the leftover material belonging to newborn stars that fuse from a cloud of molecular hydrogen. Planets are born within that disk itself. According to ScienceAlert.com, astronomers discovered that old stars could also have protoplanetary disks, which is why they suspect that planets can emerge even around stars that are close to their demise. But not just any type of star would qualify.

Kluska, the first author of the study, said in a press release, as ScienceAlert.com quotes:

In ten percent of the evolved binary stars with discs we studied, we see a large cavity in the disc,

This is an indication that something is floating around there that has collected all matter in the area of the cavity.

The authors of the study also explained, as the same source quotes:

However, it seems more plausible that if the transition disks were produced by a planet, it would be a first-generation planet that survived the binary interaction phase,

Indeed, it seems that circumbinary planets are as frequent as planets around single stars, despite the relatively low number of detections.

We’re eagerly waiting for new updates for the news, as astronomers aren’t completely sure if old stars can indeed give birth to planets. But if their hunch is correct, it’s surely a piece of information that will defy the standard models for how planets can emerge.

 

 

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