Hubble Space Telescope may have found a planet born after its star died

What happened

Astronomers found unusually high levels of niobium around the white dwarf HS 0209+0832, suggesting some of the star’s expelled material may have assembled into a new gas giant. Science News from research organizations Hubble Space Telescope may have found a planet born after its star died Date: October 9, 2026 Source: NASA Summary: A strange chemical signature in old Hubble observations may point to a planet that formed after its star had already died.

Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY Astronomers revisiting decades-old observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found a new clue in a long-running cold case. A strange chemical signature in old Hubble observations may point to a planet that formed after its star had already died.

TESS data also hints at a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting just 3.7 million miles from the star. 5 in Nature Astronomy, an unusual chemical signature suggests that the white dwarf HS 0209+0832 could be home to a second-generation planet. A white dwarf is the leftover core of a low-mass star that has exhausted its nuclear fuel and shed its outer layers of gas and dust into space.

Key facts

• Astronomers — found: unusually high levels of niobium around the white dwarf HS 0209+0832, suggesting some of the star’s expelled material may have assembled into a new gas giant
• Science News from research organizations Hubble Space Telescope may have — found: a planet born after its star died Date: October 9, 2026 Source: NASA Summary: A strange chemical signature in old Hubble observations may point to a planet that formed after its star had already died