Scientists May Have Solved , Mystery of How a Planet, Survived Stellar Cataclysm .
BBC reports that scientists believe they finally
understand how a planet that should have been
destroyed was able to mysteriously survive. .
8 Ursae Minoris b was first identified in 2015,
but the planet was believed to be unobservable,
as it should have been engulfed by a nearby dying star. .
According to a team of researchers, 8 Ursae Minoris b
may have escaped its fate due to the dying star having
an unseen companion that prevented its growth.
According to a team of researchers, 8 Ursae Minoris b
may have escaped its fate due to the dying star having
an unseen companion that prevented its growth.
No planetary system like this
has been discovered before.
This is the first, which is pretty special, Dimitri Veras, astrophysicist at the University of Warwick .
The idea of a binary star merger
came from effectively
piecing together a puzzle, Marc Hon, lead researcher from the University of Hawaii, via BBC.
Researchers believe that the surviving
planet once orbited two stars at
different stages of their stellar lives.
One was a hydrogen-burning red giant, while
the other was a helium-burning white dwarf.
Researchers think that the red giant's helium core was
ignited when it consumed its companion star, which
brought its vigorous expansion to a premature halt.
Most stars are in binary systems,
but we don't yet fully grasp how
planets may form around them, Marc Hon, lead researcher from the University of Hawaii, via BBC.
It is plausible that many more peculiar
planetary systems may exist due to
the influence of binary companions, Marc Hon, lead researcher from the University of Hawaii, via BBC