Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found the building blocks of solid exoplanets that are capable of having substantial amounts of water. This rocky debris, currently orbiting a white dwarf star called GD 61, is considered a relic of an exoplanetary system that survived the burnout of its parent star. The finding suggests [continue reading]
Sand storms in space have been discovered by astronomers watching the death-throes of giant stars. Three ‘red giants’ were observed having their atmospheres ripped away by a ‘superwind’ containing dusty grains of silica. Astronomers have discovered sandstorms in space after using state-of-the-art techniques to search the atmospheres of distant, dying stars. Superwinds carrying the dust that [continue reading]