Researchers believe there may be a planet that could sustain life, in the vicinity of a dying sun, the BBC reports.
If confirmed, this would be the first time that a potentially life-supporting planet has been found orbiting such a star, called a “white dwarf.”
The planet was detected in the star’s “habitable zone,” where it’s neither too cold nor too hot to sustain life.
The study is published in the monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Prof Jay Farihi of University College London, who led the study, said the observation was completely new to astronomers.
“This is the first time that anything has been seen in the habitable zone of a white dwarf. And thus there is a possibility of life on another world orbiting it,” he told BBC News.
