Hubble data reveals chemical clue pointing to second generation planet

Astronomers analyzing archival data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have detected a chemical clue around the white dwarf star HS 0209+0832, Universe Today reported. The finding was published in Nature Astronomy on Monday and indicates the star may host a second-generation planet. [1]

As FTMQ Space reported earlier, astronomers detected high levels of niobium around the white dwarf HS 0209+0832 in archived Hubble data, suggesting a gas giant formed from material expelled after the star died. Data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite indicates a possible Jupiter-sized planet orbiting 3.7 million miles from the white dwarf. [4]

When stars reach the end of their life cycles, smaller stars leave behind remnants known as white dwarfs or neutron stars, while shedding their outer layers to form a nebula, Universe Today reported. The Hubble Space Telescope, which launched into low Earth orbit in 1990, remains in operation under the control of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, with target selection handled by the Space Telescope Science Institute. [1][3]

Niobium is a light grey transition metal with the atomic number 41 and the chemical symbol Nb. It oxidizes slowly in Earth's atmosphere and occurs naturally in minerals such as pyrochlore and columbite. [2]