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Can life Survive a Star’s Death? Webb Telescope can reveal the answer

A planet orbiting a small star produces strong atmospheric signals when it passes in front, or ‘transits,’ its host star, as pictured above. White dwarfs offer astronomers a rare opportunity to characterize rocky planets. Credit: Carl Sagan Institute

When stars like our sun die, all that remains is an exposed core—a white dwarf. A planet orbiting a white dwarf presents a promising opportunity to determine if life can survive the death of its star, according to Cornell University researchers.

In a study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, they show how NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope could find signatures of life on Earth-like planets orbiting white dwarfs.

A planet orbiting a small star produces strong atmospheric signals when it passes in front, or “tran...

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