The Chemical Composition of an Extrasolar Kuiper-Belt-Object

Understand

The Kuiper Belt of our solar system is a source of short-period comets that may have delivered water and other volatiles to Earth and the other terrestrial planets.

• However, the distribution of water and other volatiles in extrasolar planetary systems is largely unknown.
• We report the discovery of an accretion of a Kuiper-Belt-Object analog onto the atmosphere of the white dwarf WD 1425+540.
• The heavy elements C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Fe, and Ni are detected, with nitrogen observed for the first time in extrasolar planetary debris.