Researchers studying the atmospheres of white dwarfs have discovered previously unknown rock types which made up the exoplanets that once surrounded the stellar remnants.
According to new analysis, rocky planets found in other systems are much more diverse than previously thought. An astronomer named Siyi Xu from NSF’s NOIRLab and a geologist named Keith Putirka from California State University, Fresno, focused on rocky worlds that orbit nearby stars as well as “polluted” white dwarfs’ chemical compositions. Polluted white dwarfs. Read more »