NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory along with other telescopes have found evidence a white dwarf has been killing off planets.

With the aid of the European Space Agency's INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), scientists have detected a new X-ray source emanating from the center of a globular cluster called NGC 6388.

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Prior observations have suggested this particular cluster hosts an intermediate mass black hole in its center. The X-ray detection also suggests they were produced by hot swirling gas in the direction of the black hole.

Follow up observations from Chandra determined these X-rays apparently don't originate from the black hole in the center of NGC 6388 but from another region located sideways. Since it has been ruled out the central black hole is emitting these X-rays, scientists began to search for the source of these emissions. They resorted to the X-ray telescope aboard NASA's Swift Gamma Ray Burst mission for further analysis.

Upon observing closely, scientists found the source had become dimmer when the rate of the X-ray brightness decreased. This new finding also correlated with theoretical models from a planet disruption caused by gravitational tidal forces from a white dwarf.

White dwarfs are stars roughly the same size as Earth but how can a relatively small star wipe out and destroy an entire planet? This was apparently caused by massive forces of gravity from the star.

As a star reaches a white dwarf age, its core and other material become compact and are reduced to a radius of just one percent of its original size. This density causes powerful forces generated from its equally massive gravitational forces.

Theoretical models suggest a planet can be pulled away from its host star by the extreme gravity of a passing white dwarf. When a planet gets too close, it can be ripped apart, obliterated by gravitational tidal forces from the ultra dense star.

NASA said this planetary debris becomes heated, glowing in X-ray emissions as it falls into the white dwarf. This conclusion was based on evidence of the X-ray amount and different X-ray energies detected from that particular tidal disruption event.

The destroyed planet would have possessed a mass one third of Earth's and the white dwarf had 1.4 times the mass of our Sun.

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