Hubble data from 1999 may now have found a planet born from a dead star

Researchers using archival data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reported on October 5, 2026, in Nature Astronomy that the white dwarf HS 0209+0832 may host a second-generation planet, one formed from material its star ejected as it died. Hubble's 1999 observations held about 100 unidentified chemical features, and a team led by Jamie Williams of the University of Warwick matched many of them to niobium, a heavy element made in dying stars. NASA's retired FUSE mission confirmed the niobium, and four months of TESS data showed repeating brightness changes consistent with a Jupiter-sized planet about 3.7 million miles from the star. Williams plans to use Hubble over the next several years to study how common such planets are. Credit: NASA Video Credit: White Dwarf and Exoplanet Animations created by Chris Smith and Scott Wiessinger