Hubble Illustration of Material Accreting onto the White Dwarf G238-44 (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Hubble Illustration of Material Accreting onto the White Dwarf G238-44

Caption

This illustration shows a white dwarf star siphoning off debris from shattered objects in a planetary system. The Hubble Space Telescope detects the spectral signature of the vaporized debris that revealed a combination of rocky-metallic and icy material, the ingredients of planets. The findings help describe the violent nature of evolved planetary systems and the composition of its disintegrating bodies.

Credit

NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

Usage Restrictions

No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

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