Astronomers claim to have glimpsed the "end of the world" during a study into the make-up of dying stars. An international team has discovered that at least one in 100 white dwarfs - the burnt-out remnants of Sun-like stars - once had solar systems with planets that are destroyed or deep-frozen by the death throes of their stars. And,according to them,dust particles contained in a type of burnt-out star known as "white dwarfs" could be the remnants of planets similar to Earth. In fact,the study,led by Leicester University,has suggested that millions of other solar systems have endured the destiny predicted for the Earth when the Sun dies,British newspaper 'The Times' reported. "What we have seen is a possible fate for our own solar system. Many of the systems we are studying will have been similar to our own. It's a possibility that some of them could once have held life," team leader Jay Farihi said. Using Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope,the team has established that there is clear evidence that between one per cent and 3 per cent of white dwarfs have hosted solar systems,with planets,comets and asteroids orbiting the central star. White dwarfs have atmospheres that should consist only of hydrogen and helium,but some are known to contain heavier elements such as calcium and magnesium. The research has also shown that this contamination comes from a "rain" of dust from rocky planets and asteroids obliterated during the final phase of stellar evolution,the astronomers said. "These dust discs may be the remnants of planets and asteroids that were consumed during the star's red giant phase,or bodies in the inner solar system that were ripped apart by tidal forces. "We can't be absolutely sure what the parent bodies of the dust are. It could be asteroids and comets. It could be planets," Dr Farihi was quoted as saying. According to the astronomers,the findings cast light on how our solar system will develop,and also offer clues to the number of planets around stars like the Sun. "In the quest for Earth-like planets,we've now identified numerous systems which are excellent candidates to harbour them. "Where they persist at white dwarfs,any planets will likely not be habitable,but may have been sites where life developed during a previous epoch," Farihi said.
