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NASA's Hubble Reveals White Dwarf Feasting on Icy Planet Debris

9/23/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers observed a white dwarf consuming debris from a Pluto-like planet.
Fragments are rich in water and nitrogen, indicating a large icy body, not a small comet.
The white dwarf lies about 260 light-years away, with gravity that shreds icy bodies.
Future James Webb Space Telescope studies will probe the debris’s chemical signatures and habitability.

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Story summary

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers observed a white dwarf consuming debris from a Pluto-like planet.
Fragments are rich in water and nitrogen, indicating a large icy body, not a small comet.
The white dwarf lies about 260 light-years away, with gravity that shreds icy bodies.
Future James Webb Space Telescope studies will probe the debris’s chemical signatures and habitability.