![]() While the case for the tidal disruption of a planet is not iron clad, the argument for it was strengthened when astronomers used data from multiple space telescopes to help eliminate other possible explanations for the detected X-rays.įor example, the source does not show some of the distinctive features of a binary containing a neutron star, features such as pulsations in its light output or rapid X-ray bursts. ![]() Then the wandering planet (with about 1/3 of Earth’s mass) would have been captured & destroyed by the white dwarf. In this scenario the planet would have been pulled away from its parent star by the chaotic gravity of the crowded star cluster. The X-rays grew weaker and dimmer precisely as computer models predicted they would if the X-rays were coming from a planetary disruption caused by the gravity of a white dwarf. Parts of it were then gobbled up by the white dwarf and as they were eaten they got very hot and emitted X-rays that the Chandra X-ray Space Telescope and ESA’s INTEGRAL X-ray Space Telescope detected.Īs this “meal” progressed the X-rays were observed by NASA’s SWIFT Gamma Ray mission. The planet appears to have strayed too close to the star and was ripped apart by the tidal forces there. The gravity at the surface of a white dwarf is over 10,000 times higher than the gravity at the surface of the Sun. But how could such a teeny tiny star be responsible for such a violent act? The answer is gravity. The pink part of the image is from Chandra and the rest is from the Hubble Space Telescope. That’s the spherical, globe-shaped “globular cluster” of stars in the picture in the album artwork for today’s episode, and a white dwarf there appears to have ripped apart a planet. Today’s episode is all about a white dwarf star like this, deep inside NGC 6388 in the constellation Scorpius. This stellar core remnant is called a white dwarf star. This also creates, for a short time, the beautiful, so-called planetary nebulae.įor this star, and the Sun, that remnant core will be a ball about the size of Earth (over a million times smaller than the original star), and this core is really hot, really dense and really bright. It’s pushed by radiation pressure, the pressure exerted by light, leaving behind just the very centre, the former core of the star. When a star like our Sun runs out of fuel to fuse in nuclear fusion in its core, its outer layers are pushed out of the star’s gravity well and away into space. Not only that, it appears to have been destroyed by a star that was once like our own Sun! If you’re a fan of science fiction, you’ll have read about and seen some pretty crazy things, from time travel to the destruction of entire planets! We saw poor Spock’s home planet Vulcan destroyed in Star Trek, and in Star Wars Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan was blown to smithereens.īut does the destruction of planets really happen in the Universe, or is this just science fiction?Īstronomers have recently discovered evidence that a planet may have been destroyed in our very own Galaxy. This show is produced in collaboration with Universe Awareness, a program that strives to inspire every child with our wonderful cosmos. Today we bring you a new episode in our Space Scoop series. Just click on the “ Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at is 365 Days of Astronomy. We still need sponsors for many days in 2015, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by - no one. He has found that his greatest passion in life is public outreach astronomy and he pursues it at every opportunity. He was an observer with the UVa Parallax Program at McCormick Observatory in 1981 & 1982. I think this set would also have appeal across a large audience.Title: Space Scoop: The Teeny Tiny Planet Destroyerĭescription: Space scoop, news for children.īio: Richard Drumm is President of the Charlottesville Astronomical Society and President of 3D – Drumm Digital Design, a video production company with clients such as Kodak, Xerox and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. Another cool feature: the ring glows in the dark! Each of the proposed sets is only 208 pieces, so I think it would be really affordable. Each set would contain one tiny planet (complete with it's moon and tilted ring) and the clear display case. On display are two possible color options. This proposed Lego set is called the Tiny Planet Project! I've taken elements from two of my other projects and combined them into one neat, small, and affordable set.
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