http://www.newsweek.com/white-dwarf-planet-discovered-1385965

Scientists have identified a planet-like object orbiting a white dwarf star—a discovery that provides key information about what will happen when our own sun runs out of fuel and transitions into this type of celestial object.

Over recent decades, thousands of planets have been found orbiting stars beyond our solar system. Almost all of these are in systems with main-sequence stars—like our sun—that get their energy from nuclear reactions in their core. Eventually these stars run out of fuel. When this happens, they turn into red giants.