Frigid alien planet may offer a glimpse at Earth's distant future

An artist's impression shows a rocky planet orbiting a stellar remnant called a white dwarf roughly 4,200 light years from Earth in this undated illustration. (WM Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko/Handout via Reuters)

The first rocky planet ever spotted orbiting a burned out star called a white dwarf offers a glimpse of what may be in store for Earth billions of years from now -- showing it is possible our planet might survive the death of the sun, albeit as a cold and desolate outpost in space.