Spitzer is helping us understand
how planetary systems evolve in tandem with their parent stars," said David
Leisawitz, NASA's Spitzer program scientist.

nakano discoveries

This is the first observational evidence that comets can outlive
their suns. The observation in J0806 is most
likely the orbital period of the white dwarf system.

discoveries shoemaker

If any planets orbited in these systems, the red giants would have
engulfed at least the inner ones. However, these trips to the
tropics often end in destruction.
Optical and X-ray observations of J0806 showed periodic variations of
321.

tickles tempel

Spitzer, with its powerful
infrared spectrometer, was able to break this light apart revealing its
molecular makeup. These data told astronomers the light was coming from the
same types of dusty minerals found in comets in our solar system. JPL is a
division of Caltech.edu/spitzer

For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.gov/home/

WASHINGTON, A scientist using NASA's Chandra X-ray
Observatory has found evidence that two white dwarf stars are orbiting each
other in a death grip, destined to merge., manages the Chandra
program for NASA 's Science Mission Directorate.gov

stsp halley

As the stars swirl closer together, traveling in excess of one million
mph, the production of gravitational waves increases. He presented data today at the American
Astronomical Society meeting in Minneapolis.
Strohmayer's Chandra X-ray observations tighten orbital decay estimates
made through optical independent observations by other research teams .

meteors nakano

Kuchner presented his findings today at the 207th meeting of the American
Astronomical Society in Washington.caltech.
White dwarfs are remnants of stars that have used up all their fuel.

shoemaker bopp

nasa .

designation astrophysical

The findings suggest the star, which most likely consumed its inner
planets, is still orbited by a ring of surviving comets and possibly outer
planets.
"The size of these grains tells us they are probably from comets and not other
planetary bodies. They also occasionally crash into
planets , as comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 did when it plunged into Jupiter. Either way it's got a great story to tell ,"
Strohmayer said.

1444 designations

"If confirmed, J0806 could be one of the brightest sources of
gravitational waves in our galaxy," said Tod Strohmayer of NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
For additional Chandra information and images on the Internet, visit:

http://chandra.

asteroids catchers

The findings were published in the
December 20, 2005, issue of the Astrophysical Journal.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

NASA Sees Orbiting Stars Flooding Space With Gravitational Waves

The system is known as RX J0806. The white dwarf pair in
J0806 might have the smallest orbit of any known binary system.
Strohmayer's data will be published in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical
Journal.

discoveries bopp

The data indicate gravitational waves are carrying energy away from the
star system at a prodigious rate, making it a prime candidate for future
missions designed to directly detect these ripples in space-time.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. The Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray
Center in Cambridge, Mass.

tempel catchers

For artists' concepts, other graphics and more information about Spitzer
on the Web, visit:

http://www.

discoveries designation

edu

http://chandra.

astrophysical nakano

WASHINGTON, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope spotted
what may be comet dust sprinkled around the white dwarf star G29-38, that died
approximately 500 million years ago.
Though the dust seen by Spitzer around the white dwarf is most likely the
remains of such a torn-up comet, there may be other explanations.

1444 orbital

"Astronomers have known for decades that stars are born, have an extended
middle age, and then wither away or explode.
"We detected a large quantity of very small, dirty silicate grains," said
astronomer Marc Kuchner of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages the Spitzer
Space Telescope mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.

astrophysical asteroids

NASA's Spitzer Finds Possible Comet Dust Around Dead Star

As the stars aged over billions of years, they
grew brighter and eventually swelled in size to become red giants .3+1527 or J0806. Along
with neutron stars and black holes, white dwarfs are called compact objects ,
because they pack a lot of mass into a small volume.

interplanetary comets

"
In our own solar system, comets reside in the cold outer fringes in
regions known as the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. Comets slowly disintegrate as they pass
close to the sun or they crash into it. As the stars move closer together, the
orbital period decreases, and it can be measured by Chandra.2 milliseconds every year. This is a
rate consistent with the theory that predicted loss of energy due to
gravitational waves. The white dwarfs in the
J0806 system each have an estimated mass of one-half the sun, yet are only
about the size of Earth .5 seconds, barely more than five minutes. However the possibility
that it represents the spin of one of its white dwarfs cannot be completely
ruled out.

orbits hyakutake

Millions of
years later, the red giants shed their outer atmospheres, leaving behind white
dwarfs. One
possibility is a second wave of planets formed long after the death of the
star, leaving a dusty construction zone. Science
operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech.nasa.

orbits heliospheric

Astronomers believe white dwarfs are shrunken skeletons of stars that were
once similar to Earth's sun.
"It's either the most compact binary known or one of the most unusual
systems we've ever seen.

This gives them a tail or makes them look fuzzy.

shoemaker designation

spitzer.

halley grazing

Prior to the Spitzer findings, astronomers studying G29-38 noticed an
unusual and unknown source of infrared light.

tempel meteors

Only distant outer planets and an orbiting
icy outpost of comets would have survived.

comets breakup

"It could be among the first to
be directly detected with an upcoming space mission called LISA, the Laser
Interferometer Space Antenna," he added.

Comets are like asteroids, but when they are near the sun they release dust or gas.

catchers hyakutake

"The dust seen by Spitzer around G29-38 was probably generated relatively
recently when one such outlying comet may have been knocked into the inner
region of the system and ripped into dust shreds by the tidal forces of the
star," said astronomer William Reach of the Spitzer Science Center at the
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif. The stars are
only about 50,000 miles apart, a fifth of the distance from the Earth to the
moon.

bopp shoemaker

Only when something disturbs
their orbits, such as another comet or an outer planet, do they begin periodic
journeys into the sun's warmer neighborhood .
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity predicted a binary star system
should emit gravitational waves that rush away at the speed of light and cause
the stars to move closer together. The orbital
period of this system is decreasing by 1.harvard.