The discovery of the remains of planets similar to Earth and Mars, the oldest objects in the galaxy

Scientists have found dust from Earth-like planets in the atmosphere of four nearby cosmic bodies, which are among the oldest objects in the galaxy. A team from the University of Warwick has discovered outer layers containing up to 300,000 gigatons of rock debris, including up to 60 gigatons of lithium and 3000 gigatons of potassium.

According to the British newspaper “Daily Mail”, the researchers also found traces of sodium and calcium, indicating that the remains of the dead planets are similar to what was found on Earth and on Mars.

The discovery was not only the first time astronomers had seen planetary remains in the atmosphere of dead stellar bodies, but also the first time that solar systems like ours had existed for billions of years.

The team led by the University of Warwick analyzed data from a telescope Gaia From the European Space Agency (THIS) Over 1000 stars that died at one time called a white dwarf, when they encountered an unusual signal from a particular white dwarf.

The team analyzed the light from each star at different wavelengths, which uncovered what elements might be lurking in the star’s atmosphere.

Scientists also examined 30,000 spectra of white dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey published over the past 20 years.

The signal matched the wavelength of lithium, and astronomers quickly discovered three more white dwarfs with the same signal, one of which was also observed with potassium in its atmosphere.

The four white dwarfs are believed to have burned their fuel up to 10 billion years ago and may be among the oldest white dwarfs to form in the galaxy.

“In the past we’ve seen all kinds of things like mantle and base materials, but we haven’t had a final discovery of the planetary crust,” said lead researcher Dr Mark Hollandes of the department. of Physics from the University of Warwick. . The mantle or the core. “