A “metallic scar” observed on a white dwarf star reveals the fate of Earth when the Sun dies.
According to calculations, in about 5 billion years, our Sun will die, which will undoubtedly impact Earth.
What scientists have recently observed in the dead star named WD 0816-310 may be a “prophecy,” giving us insight into what is truly happening at that future moment.
The white dwarf star WD 0816-310 carries fragments of planets that it has torn apart and consumed – (Graphic: ESO)
According to Science Alert, WD 0816-310 is a white dwarf star, a type of star that exists as a “zombie.” They are the remnants of a star like the Sun that has flared into a red giant in its dying moments, collapsing into a small, dense, high-energy object.
Previous observations have suggested two scenarios for the future of planets when their parent star becomes a “zombie.”
One possibility is that they will survive, continuing to orbit the parent star, but of course, with many drastic environmental changes since the parent star is no longer a shining sun.
The second, more brutal scenario is that they will be consumed by the parent star during its expansion into a red giant.
“Now we find that the magnetic field of the star plays an important role in this process, leading to the scars on the surface of the white dwarf star” – said astronomer Stefano Bagnulo from the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Ireland).
The “metallic scar” is all that remains of one – or more – planets that were consumed by the parent star.
Traces of sodium, magnesium, calcium, chromium, manganese, iron, and nickel are evidence that these are remnants of a planet’s body, not the star’s. Based on measurements, this white dwarf star must have consumed at least one planet or a dwarf planet with a diameter of 500 km.
Interestingly, the white dwarf has not been able to mix its material with the “children” it has consumed, but retains them as armored patches embedded in the star, held tightly by the magnetic field.
Even more intriguing, this could be a glimpse into Earth’s future. Previous calculations suggest that when our Sun expands into a red giant, it will engulf the three nearest planets: Mercury, Venus, and our Earth.
These findings were recently published in the scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
