Planet Found Orbiting a Dead Star Could Preview What Will Happen to Our Solar System
Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to find methane and haze in WD 1856 b’s atmosphere, and the planet is about 4 to 11 times Jupiter’s mass.
- On July 1, 2026, researchers published findings in Nature revealing the first atmosphere detected on a planet orbiting a dead star, as the James Webb Space Telescope discovered that WD 1856 b possesses a methane-rich atmosphere.
- Northwestern University astrophysicist Christopher O'Connor noted two theories explaining the planet's survival: it was either swallowed by the star during its death or migrated inward due to gravitational interactions within the system.
- The exoplanet completes one orbit every 34 hours at 80 light-years away, maintaining a temperature of about 260 degrees Fahrenheit—roughly 240 degrees hotter than the white dwarf's faint heat alone should allow.
- When the Sun dies in 5 billion years, our solar system may face a similar fate; while Earth will likely be destroyed, the trajectory of gas giants Jupiter and Saturn remains unclear.
- University of St. Andrews lecturer Ryan MacDonald stated, "Our results show that stellar death is not the end," and researchers plan to continue using the telescope to study other exoplanets orbiting dead stars.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Planet found orbiting a dead star could preview what will happen to our solar system
By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — New observations may offer fresh clues into how a giant exoplanet survived the violent death of its host star — and came to closely orbit its stellar remnants. The findings could serve as a preview of the fate that may await our solar system’s largest planets — such as the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn — when the sun dies in 5 billion years. Astronomers detected a baffling Jupiter-size planet in 2020 that was zi…
Aerosols and hydrocarbons in the atmosphere of a white dwarf planet
Most stars, including our Sun, will one day evolve into red giants and, subsequently, white dwarfs. Several planet candidates have recently been identified orbiting white dwarfs1–4, demonstrating that planets can survive the stellar post-main-sequence stage intact. Little is known about the atmospheric composition of post-main-sequence planets, with the most evolved transiting planets with atmospheric detections so far orbiting subgiants5,6. Her…
The world of exoplanets is filled with exotic cases and enigmatic bizarreries, but the James-Webb Space Telescope can help solve these puzzles.
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