White dwarfs may support life on orbiting planets

A new study suggests that white dwarfs, the remnants of stars like our sun, may host planets capable of supporting life. Caldon Whyte, a Ph.D. student at Florida Tech, has been researching this area for two years. He previously earned his Bachelor's degree in astrobiology in 2023 and is now focused on the potential for life around these cooling stars. Traditionally, scientists believed the unstable temperatures of white dwarfs made them unsuitable for life. However, advancements from the James Webb Space Telescope are revealing more about these stars and their planetary systems. Whyte, along with his advisors, created a model to assess how energy from white dwarfs could support processes like photosynthesis and the formation of life from non-living matter, known as abiogenesis. Whyte's model indicated that white dwarfs can provide enough energy for these processes to occur simultaneously, suggesting that planets in their habitable zones might sustain life. His findings were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters along with his co-authors. The research identifies "Goldilocks zones," where conditions are ideal for liquid water. These zones can shift based on a star's energy output. White dwarfs have inconsistent temperatures as they lack a fuel source, meaning their habitable zones are constantly changing. Despite this, Whyte's simulations showed that an Earth-like planet could receive sufficient energy for life processes over a period of about 7 billion years. This discovery encourages scientists to consider white dwarfs as potential targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. Whyte is now planning to observe existing white dwarfs using the James Webb Space Telescope. He aims to find a white dwarf that matches his model and then identify any orbiting planets. Whether or not a planet is found, he believes all results from his research will be valuable in guiding future space exploration efforts.