Finally, the 'planet' in planetary nebulae?

New studies may vindicate 300-year-old astronomical 'mistake'

The Rochester team's model of the spiral shock waves caused by a planet orbiting a dying star. Click here for more information.

Astronomers at the University of Rochester, home to one of the world’s largest groups of planetary nebulae specialists, have announced that low-mass stars and possibly even super-Jupiter-sized planets may be responsible for creating some of the most breathtaking objects in the sky.

The news is ironic because the name “planetary” nebula has always been a misnomer. When these objects were discovered 300 years ago, astronomers couldn’t tell what they were and named them for their resemblance to the planet Uranus. But as early as the mid-19th century, astronomers realized these objects are really great clouds of dust emitted by dying stars.

Now, Rochester researchers have found that planets or low-mass stars orbiting these aged stars may indeed be pivotal to the creation of the nebulae’s fantastic appearance.

In a new paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters, and in recent papers in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, a team of astronomers anchored by Eric Blackman, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, has studied the consequences of a dying star that possesses an orbiting companion.

“Few researchers have explored how something as small as a very low-mass star, a brown dwarf, or even a massive planet can produce several flavors of nebulae and even change the chemical composition of the dust around these evolved stars,” says Blackman. “If the companions can be this small, it’s important because low-mass stars and high-mass planets are likely quite common and could go a long way toward explaining the many dusty shapes we see surrounding these evolved stars.”