Astronomers observe rare double debris disc around dead star
Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope have discovered a debris disc around the white dwarf J1328−1450 with a unique double-ring structure separated by a gap, unlike previously observed single-ring systems around dead stars. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, indicates the structure is maintained by two surviving planet-like bodies on separate orbits, with the inner one estimated to be a few kilometres in diameter and the outer one potentially as large as Pluto or Earth's Moon. The disc contains elements such as calcium, oxygen, magnesium and iron similar to rocky planetary material in our Solar System, with the two rings showing different compositions that suggest they originated from planets with different compositions or from different parts of a celestial body.
