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In this illustration, an asteroid (bottom left) breaks apart under the powerful gravity of LSPM J0207+3331, the oldest, coldest white dwarf known to be surrounded by a ring of dusty debris.

This artist concept illustrates a comet being torn to shreds around a dead star, or white dwarf, called G29-38. NASA Spitzer Space Telescope observed a cloud of dust around this white dwarf that may have been generated from comet disruption.

This plot of data from NASA Spitzer Space Telescopes shows that asteroid dust around a dead white dwarf star contains silicates -- a common mineral on Earth.

This chart shows data from NASA Kepler space telescope, which looks for planets by monitoring changes in the brightness of stars. As planets orbit in front of a star, they block the starlight, causing periodic dips.

NASA Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes upon the dusty remains of shredded asteroids around several dead stars. This artist concept illustrates a white dwarf, surrounded by the bits and pieces of a disintegrating asteroid.

This artist concept shows hundreds of brown dwarfs deep red, expected to be added to the population of known stars in our solar neighborhood. Our sun and other known stars appear white, yellow or red.

This artist concept shows a hypothetical rejuvenated planet,a gas giant that has reclaimed its youthful infrared glow. NASA Spitzer Space Telescope found tentative evidence for one such planet around a dead star, or white dwarf, called PG 0010+280.

This chart illustrates relative masses of super-dense cosmic objects, ranging from white dwarfs to supermassive black holes encased in the cores of most galaxies. The first three dead stars left all form when stars more massive than our sun explode.

This artist concept depicts an ultra-dense dead star, called a white dwarf, passing in front of a small red star. NASA planet-hunting Kepler was able to detect gravitational lensing by measuring a strangely subtle dip in the star brightness.

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