[SunkenCiv]

---

METALLIC RING:  An unusual disk of gaseous, metallic debris around a white dwarf star 463 light years away provides a model for what could become of our solar system Researchers using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey--a comprehensive effort to map a quarter of the sky with a dedicated telescope at Apache Point, N.M.--have identified a cooling ember of a star ringed by a rare gaseous, metal-rich disk. This discovery, according to team leader Boris Gänsicke of the University of Warwick in England, suggests that there is a planet orbiting this once massive star. It also may provide, he says, "a glimpse into the future of our solar system," specifically how it may end. [Image: PICTURE BY MARK A. GARLICK]

---

[SunkenCiv]

similar story, because the SciAm story will vanish:

Metal Ring Round White Dwarf Solves Missing Planets Puzzle
SpaceRef
Saturday, December 23, 2006

Astrophysicists at the University of Warwick have found an unusual ring of metal-rich gas orbiting very close around a white dwarf star. The presence of the ring helps solve a problem for astronomers who, up till now, have been puzzled by the apparent absence of planets around white dwarf stars... This "metal" disc around SDSS1228+1040 appears to be relatively rare. Before their study, three white dwarfs, out of a study of a few hundred, were suggested to be surrounded by planetary debris material. However, in none of those three cases could a definite proof of an asteroid origin be made due to the lack of information on the geometry and the chemical abundance of the material found in the vicinity of these stars. As part of their study, the Warwick team investigated data for 500 additional white dwarfs without finding conclusive evidence for another system harbouring such a disc.

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

Asteroid busted up by a planet, sounds like catastrophism to me. :') Have a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and fun and productive 2007!

---

· Catastrophism ping list · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark ·

---

[SamAdams76]

This does not bode well for planet Earth. Eventually, be it tomorrow or 12 billion years from now, we are all going to die.