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==Evidence==
==Evidence==
In the [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System|Solar System’s early history]], [[Gas giant|gas giants]] would break apart [[Protoplanet|protoplanets]], eventually breaking them up into smaller pieces, and turning into the [[asteroid]]s we observe today. The same events happen if another Solar system has massive exoplanets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asteroids: Facts |url=https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/facts/ |website=nasa.gov |access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="NASA-20230126">{{cite news |last=Gronstal |first=Aaron |title=Exo-Asteroids and Habitability around M-Dwarfs |url=https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/exo-asteroids-and-habitability-around-m-dwarfs/ |date=26 January 2023 |work=[[NASA]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231231122011/https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/exo-asteroids-and-habitability-around-m-dwarfs/ |archivedate=31 December 2023 |accessdate=31 December 2023 }}</ref>
In the [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System|Solar System’s early history]], [[Gas giant|gas giants]] would break apart [[Protoplanet|protoplanets]]. The leftover smaller pieces that survived during the destruction of the planet are the [[asteroid]]s we observe today. The same events take place if another Solar system has massive exoplanets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asteroids: Facts |url=https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/facts/ |website=nasa.gov |access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="NASA-20230126">{{cite news |last=Gronstal |first=Aaron |title=Exo-Asteroids and Habitability around M-Dwarfs |url=https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/exo-asteroids-and-habitability-around-m-dwarfs/ |date=26 January 2023 |work=[[NASA]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231231122011/https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/exo-asteroids-and-habitability-around-m-dwarfs/ |archivedate=31 December 2023 |accessdate=31 December 2023 }}</ref>


[[NASA]] once conducted studies, confirming that almost any solar system with planets as large as the outer gas giants and inner planets as large as the inner rocky planets could form an asteroid belt around its star.<ref name="NASA-20230126" />
[[NASA]] once conducted studies, confirming that almost any solar system with planets as large as the outer gas giants and inner planets as large as the inner [[Terrestrial planet|terrestrial planets]] could form an asteroid belt around its star.<ref name="NASA-20230126" />


=== History ===
=== History ===

Revision as of 20:03, 27 February 2024

Exoasteroid belts around star Fomalhaut
(James Webb Space Telescope; 8 May 2023)

An exoasteroid, exo-asteroid or extrasolar asteroid, is an asteroid outside the Solar System. Exoasteroids (and related exoasteroid belts) were considered to be hypothetical, but scientific study and thorough analysis has provided evidence for their existence.[1]

Evidence

In the Solar System’s early history, gas giants would break apart protoplanets. The leftover smaller pieces that survived during the destruction of the planet are the asteroids we observe today. The same events take place if another Solar system has massive exoplanets.[2][3]

NASA once conducted studies, confirming that almost any solar system with planets as large as the outer gas giants and inner planets as large as the inner terrestrial planets could form an asteroid belt around its star.[3]

History

In December 1988, a study conducted by Benjamin Zuckerman and Eric Becklin found evidence of a large circumstellar disc around white dwarf star G 29-38 after a near-infrared survey of 200 white dwarfs. [4] Both scientists conducted studies on the white dwarf star, eventually discovering the circumstellar disc radiate a substantial emission between 2 and 5 micrometres. This could prove the existence of asteroids, and them bouncing of radiant matter into space. [5] Later observations made in 2004 by the Spitzer Space Telescope indicated the presence of a dust cloud around G 29-38, which may have been created by an exocomet or exoasteroid being ripped apart by the white dwarf during its history. [6] Spitzers observations further proved that exoasteroid belts and exoasteroids could exist.

In May 2023, the James Webb Space Telescope captured images of Fomalhaut,[7] a young star located 25 light-years (ly) from Earth. Scientists conducted simulations and tests of Fomalhaut's asteroid belt, and concluded that the asteroid belt may have formed due to larger body collisions.[7][clarification needed]

Another star that has been detected to have an asteroid belt around it is white dwarf star WD 0145+234. It is thought that WD 0145+234 had a previous, more massive exoasteroid or exoplanet orbiting it, which was later destroyed, leaving the planets remnant, later forming a massive exoasteroid belt. Due to the star's radius, scientists have concluded that the accretion disk orbiting WD 0145+234 is very active, with exoasteroids being ripped apart by the star's gravitational pull. In 2018, astronomers detected that the star's light was 10% more intense in the mid-infrared spectrum, and concluded that a recent exoasteroid was pulled apart, creating a cloud of metallic dust that blocks WD 0145+234‘s view from Earth, albeit the gas cloud doesn’t block much light from Earths view.[8]

Detection

Exoasteroid being ripped apart by its star

In 2013, astronomers discovered shattered remains of an exoasteroid around star GD 61. On closer analysis, scientists concluded that the asteroid previously had a water-rich surface: originally some 26% water by mass on its surface, almost close to the surface water (in the form of ice) on the dwarf planet Ceres. This evidence suggests that a super-Earth exoplanet, or an exoplanet that carried liquids, could have existed around the star at some point in its history. It is thought the asteroid was destroyed by its star, leaving tiny fragments behind; also creating an asteroid belt around the star.

Subsequently, scientists used the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the chemical elements contained in the asteroid: magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen were detected in the asteroid's water.[9]

As of December 2023, GD 61 is the only star known to have had an asteroid orbiting it.[citation needed]

Observation methods

Exoasteroids can be detected as they transit their star, which could also allow for scientists to see the shape of the asteroid. Spectroscopy can also be a useful resource in finding interesting characteristics of an exoasteroid, as scientists could detect surface features on the asteroid, giving a better understanding of the asteroid.

Using information from our Solar System

During ʻOumuamua’s passing in our Solar System, scientists used techniques to remotely sense the object, and found out it was primordially covered with rocks and possibly metals.[10] As ʻOumuamua is an extrasolar object, using this information could be reliable information, and scientists could discover that most exoasteroids could be covered with the same materials ʻOumuamua carries. Scientists could also use data from past missions that studied asteroids or comets.

See also

References

  1. ^ Enking, Molly (11 May 2023). "James Webb Telescope Reveals Asteroid Belts Around Nearby Young Star - The findings suggest the star Fomalhaut may have orbiting planets hidden among its rings of debris". Smitjhsonian. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Asteroids: Facts". nasa.gov. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Gronstal, Aaron (26 January 2023). "Exo-Asteroids and Habitability around M-Dwarfs". NASA. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ^ A low-temperature companion to a white dwarf star, E. E. Becklin & B. Zuckerman, Nature 336 (Dec. 15, 1988), pp. 656-658
  5. ^ Excess infrared radiation from a white dwarf - an orbiting brown dwarf? B. Zuckerman & E. E. Becklin, Nature 330, (Nov. 12, 1987), pp. 138-140
  6. ^ The Dust Cloud around the White Dwarf G29-38, William T. Reach, Marc J. Kuchner, Ted von Hippel, Adam Burrows, Fergal Mullally, Mukremin Kilic, and D. E. Winget, Astrophysical Journal 635, #2 (December 2005), pp. L161–L164.
  7. ^ a b "Webb Looks for Fomalhaut's Asteroid Belt and Finds Much More". nasa.gov. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. ^ Letzter, Rafi (17 October 2019). "An Asteroid-Smashing Star Ground a Giant Rock to Bits and Covered Itself in the Remains". livescience.com. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Watery asteroid discovered in dying star points to habitable exoplanets". phys.org. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  10. ^ "'Oumuamua NASA Science". nasa.gov. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
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