Updated

Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 1

JWST Finds Jupiter-Mass PSR J2322-2650b Defies Formation Theories as Carbon Atmosphere Points to Diamond Rain

Updated

Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 1

JWST Finds Jupiter-Mass PSR J2322-2650b Defies Formation Theories as Carbon Atmosphere Points to Diamond Rain

Q: If Jupiter realigns after our Sun dies, could it become a new heat source for the frozen inner planets like Earth?

No. Even if Jupiter were to migrate inward after the Sun becomes a white dwarf, it would not become a meaningful new heat source for Earth or the other inner planets. The new JWST study of WD 1856 b shows what can happen to a Jupiter-like world after its star dies. That planet moved inward long after the red giant phase and was reheated by tidal forces, leaving it much warmer than the white dwarf’s light alone can explain. But that heat is internal to the planet and gradually fading. It does not turn the planet into a star, and it would not radiate enough energy to warm distant rocky planets in any significant way. There is also a more basic problem: the inner Solar System is unlikely to be intact by then. Mercury and Venus are expected to be engulfed when the Sun swells into a red giant. Earth may also be destroyed, though some models suggest it could survive in a wider orbit around the future white dwarf Sun. In either case, any surviving Earth would be cold and far away, and Jupiter’s residual heat would be negligible at that distance. Jupiter cannot ignite fusion, so it cannot become a replacement Sun. At most, the WD 1856 b result suggests that gas giants can survive stellar death, migrate later, and stay unusually warm for billions of years. That is important for understanding the Solar System’s far future, but not as a realistic way to reheat frozen inner planets.

3 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 1

PSR J2322-2650b, a Jupiter-mass companion orbiting the pulsar PSR J2322-2650, has emerged from JWST data as an object unlike any other exoplanet yet observed.
1,900-kelvin measurements across a full orbit showed an atmosphere dominated by helium and carbon, with nitrogen and oxygen notably absent; that chemistry implies soot clouds that could harden into diamond.
The sharper scientific problem is origin: standard gas-giant formation cannot produce a nearly pure-carbon world, and the usual stripped-core explanation for pulsar companions also fails to match its composition.
Found in 2017 through pulsar-timing signals, the object was previously known only as a gravitational tug; Webb has now made it possible to read the atmosphere of a dim body orbiting a dead star.
Next observations will test the inferred diamond-forming chemistry and whether PSR J2322-2650b is a one-off anomaly or the first known member of a new class.

Sources

spacedaily.com22d ago

Astronomers Discover Diamond-Raining Jupiter-Mass World PSR J2322-2650b, Challenging Planet Formation Theories

Popular Science22d ago

Astronomers Confirm Exoplanet WD 1856 b Survived Star's Death, Revealing Future Planetary Survival

ScienceAlert22d ago

JWST Reveals Hotter-Than-Expected Atmosphere of Exoplanet WD 1856b Orbiting White Dwarf

10 Sources

How did a gas giant seven times larger than its star survive stellar death to orbit it in just 34 hours?

Methane was detected on a planet orbiting a dead star. What does this mean for the chemistry of post-apocalyptic planetary systems?

If Jupiter realigns after our Sun dies, could it become a new heat source for the frozen inner planets like Earth?

WD 1856 b and the Fate of Planets: Unveiling the First Close-Orbit Gas Giant Around a White Dwarf

Overview

The discovery of WD 1856 b, a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting an Earth-sized white dwarf, has amazed astronomers and changed our view of planetary survival after stellar death. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, scientists confirmed this planet’s existence and began to solve the mystery of how it survived its star’s red giant phase. WD 1856 b orbits extremely close to its white dwarf host, which is the leftover core of a Sun-like star that expanded billions of years ago. This finding gives new insight into the future of solar systems and shows that planets can endure even after dramatic changes in their stars.

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