Metal Scar Found on Cannibal Star WD 0816-310 | European Southern Observatory
Using European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have found a metal ‘scar’ imprinted on the surface of a dead star. This video summarizes the discovery.
When a star like our Sun reaches the end of its life, it can ingest the surrounding planets and asteroids that were born with it. This seems to be the case of the white dwarf WD 0816-310, the Earth-sized remnant of a star similar to, but somewhat larger than, our Sun.
The scar the team observed is a concentration of metals imprinted on its surface. These metals seem to originate from a planetary fragment as large as or possibly larger than Vesta, which is about 500 kilometers across and the second-largest asteroid in the Solar System.
Video Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Duration: 1 minute, 16 seconds
Release Date: Feb. 26, 2024
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