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Astronomers find unique disc of debris around dead star | ESO News
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About this episode
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have found a unique disc of debris around the white dwarf J1328−1450 -- the dead core of a star similar to our Sun. The star is surrounded not by one but two discs of gas, which are likely maintained by planetesimals that survived the star’s death. As these planetesimals orbit the star, they interact with dust grains around the star, releasing gas that ends up arranged in two discs. This video summarises the discovery.