White dwarf creating debris ring, illustration. At bottom left, a asteroid is breaking apart under the powerful gravity of the white dwarf at centre.
White dwarf creating debris ring, illustration. At bottom left, a asteroid is breaking apart under the powerful gravity of the white dwarf at centre. Named LSPM J0207+3331, this is the oldest, coldest white dwarf known to be surrounded by a ring of dusty debris. It is thought that the infrared emissions from the system are best explained by two distinct rings composed of dust supplied by crumbling asteroids. This system, which is 145 light years away in the constellation of Triangulum, was studied with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Image published in 2019.
Size: 4319px × 2429px
Photo credit: © NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Wiessinger/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, 2019, artwork, asteroid, asteroids, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, circumstellar, debris, disc, disk, dwarf, explorer, illustration, infrared, j0207+3331, lspm, ring, space, star, stellar, survey, system, triangulum, universe, white, wide-field, wise
