More information: Jupiter, Saturn and their partners can survive the expansion of the Sun

If our Sun swells at the end of its life, loses large portions of its atmosphere, and eventually becomes just a white dwarf star, exoplanets could survive. This is suggested by the now general discovery of two exoplanets orbiting exactly this celestial body at relatively small distances. If the first direct detection of such objects is confirmed, it will be another clear indication that planets like Jupiter and Saturn can survive the stages of our Sun's evolution to become white dwarfs, says study leader Susan Mulally of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Evaluate the importance of the study For the specialized science magazine.

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A few exoplanets are white dwarfs

Exoplanets have already been discovered among white dwarfs, but they are usually very far from their star. In other cases, it is usually assumed that the planets were captured after the dwarf star formed. On the other hand, exoplanets near the stars WD 1202-232 and WD 2105-82 give the impression that they survived this process in situ. They orbit stars at distances of about 11 and 25 astronomical units (AU), which roughly corresponds to the distances of Saturn and Neptune from our Sun. The mass of one is 1.3 times the mass of Jupiter, and the other is 2.5 times the mass. Both are about 75 light years away from us.

However, the research group is not yet completely sure that the directly observed objects are actually exoplanets. It cannot be ruled out that the signals detected by the James Webb Space Telescope originate from galaxies located in the background of the stars. The probability of this is 1 in 3000. Researchers would certainly want to examine celestial objects again using the space telescope. They also want to confirm that exoplanets actually formed with their stars. The researchers present their work in one Previously published article It will be published in the specialized journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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