Scientists Find 4.4-Day 'Phoenix' Planet Orbiting White Dwarf HS 0209+0832
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Oct 8
Scientists Find 4.4-Day 'Phoenix' Planet Orbiting White Dwarf HS 0209+0832
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Oct 8
Summary
A Jupiter-sized planet candidate appears to circle white dwarf HS 0209+0832 every 4.4 days, in what researchers say could be the first second-generation planet found around a white dwarf.
Niobium-rich chemical traces in the white dwarf’s light, backed by a faint repeating TESS signal, suggest the dead star is accreting gas stripped from the nearby planet’s atmosphere.
Researchers say the planet likely formed from material the star expelled as it died, making it a rare “phoenix” world rebuilt from the remains of its former host.
If confirmed, the finding could give astronomers a new way to hunt similar worlds by screening other white dwarfs for the same chemical signature, with implications for studies of white-dwarf habitability.