While >200 extra-solar planets orbiting main-sequence stars have beendiscovered, the destiny of planetary systems through the late stages of theevolution of their host stars is very uncertain, and no planet has been foundaround a white dwarf. We have identified a metal-rich gas disk around therelatively young white dwarf SDSS 1228+1040. A dynamical model of thedouble-peaked emission lines constrains the outer disk radius to just 1.2Rs. Thelikely origin of the disk is a tidally disrupted asteroid, which has beendestabilised from its initial orbit at a distance of more than 1000 solar radiiby the interaction with a rather massive planetesimal or planet. We propose aVLT and XMM study of the nature of the planetary debris disk around SDSS 1228+1040 and its interaction with the WD
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2007-06-10T21:54:07Z/2007-06-11T04:32:46Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Boris Gaensicke, 2008, 'An intensive study of the planetary debris disk around SDSS J1228+1040', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-0rf668v
