Death of star will start ‘game of pinball’ for planets in system, say scientists

The death of the star in the HR 8799 system will have a huge knock-on effect for its planets (University of Warwick/Mark Garlick)

Four planets locked in a rhythm around a nearby star are destined to be sent pinballing around their solar system when their sun eventually dies, a new study suggests.

Astronomers modelled how the change in gravitational forces in the system as a result of the star becoming a white dwarf will cause its planets to fly loose from their orbits and bounce off each other’s gravity.