Astronomers spot white dwarf star with two rings of planetary debris

Astronomers have found two distinct rings of planetary debris around the white dwarf J1328−1450, offering evidence that planetary systems can leave behind more complex remnants than previously observed. The discovery also supports the possibility that some rocky bodies survive a star’s transformation into a white dwarf, a fate expected for the Sun in about five billion years.

Located about 1,600 light-years away in Virgo, J1328−1450 has roughly 47 per cent of the Sun’s mass compressed into a diameter about the size of Earth. Observations with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope revealed the double-ring structure; the 21 white dwarfs previously identified with surrounding debris each had a single disc. Researchers suggest two surviving rocky bodies, perhaps one around Pluto’s size and another smaller, may have helped shape the rings, whose magnesium levels differ.