Aerospace
'Winking' Star May Be Devouring Destroyed Planets
A team of U.S. astronomers studying the star RZ Piscium has found evidence suggesting its unpredictable dimming episodes may be caused by orbiting clouds of gas and dust - the remains of one or more destroyed planets. "Our observations show there are massive blobs of dust and gas that occasionally block the star's light and are probably spiraling into it," said Kristina Punzi, a doctoral student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. "Although there could be other explanations, we suggest this material may have been produced by the break-up of massive orbiting bodies near the star." Young stars are often enormous X-ray sources. Observations using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite show that RZ Piscium is as well.
More From SAE Media Group
Aerospace & Defense Tech Briefs
CAM Software
Photonics & Imaging Technology INSIDER
SoloHI Imager Captures Rare Shot of Venus, Earth, Mars, and Uranus
Photonics & Imaging Technology INSIDER
NASA Targets 2026 for Launch of Israel's First Space Telescope
Tech Briefs
NASA Discovers Water on Moon's Surface
Photonics & Imaging Technology INSIDER
Restoring Sight to Euclid's Visible Instrument System
Aerospace INSIDER
Euclid Space Telescope Begins Mission to Study Dark Energy and Matter
Aerospace & Defense Tech Briefs
Cryogenic Thermal Subsystem
Podcasts
Asteroids
Tech Briefs
AutoLens Analysis for Euclid Challenge
Tech Briefs
Nanocardboard Aircraft with No Moving Parts
Aerospace & Defense Tech Briefs
Space Debris Orbit and Attitude Prediction for Enhanced and Efficient Space Situational Awareness
Tech Briefs
NASA's Decade-Long Time Lapse of the Sun
Transcript
00:00:00 [music] Something occasionally dims the star R2 Piscium. But what? New research confirms the star is a mere toddler, only 1 percent the Sun's age, and suggests that thick blobs of gas and dust erratically dim its light. The blobs may be planetary wreckage of a young world or worlds torn apart... and perhaps still dissolving today. [music] [music] NASA Astrophysics [beeping]
00:00:53 Goddard Space Flight Center