An exoplanet candidate has been identified orbiting a white dwarf for the first time. Vanderberg et al reported this month in Nature that a planetary-sized body has been identified orbiting WD 1856+534 (TIC 267574918) with a period of 1.4 Earth days, based on periodic transit dimming in the infrared range. This suggests, surprisingly, that the planetary body survived the star’s explosion and transition to white dwarf status.
Read more:
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Lopatka, A. New exoplanet endured a rough start. Physics Today (16 September 2020). https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.1.20200916b/full/
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Vanderburg, A., Rappaport, S.A., Xu, S. et al. A giant planet candidate transiting a white dwarf. Nature 585, 363–367 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2713-y
- Vieser, W. Hunting for Exoplanets. Science in School 49 (2020). https://www.scienceinschool.org/content/hunting-exoplanets