“This type of event has been predicted for decades, but until now we have never actually observed how this process plays out.”
Lusaka, May 10 – A new study published May 3, 2023, in the peer-reviewed journal Nature has documented the first observation of an aging star swallowing a planet.
Astronomers witnessed a dying star swell up and absorb a Jupiter-sized planet. As the star neared the end of its life, it grew in size, shrinking the gap with its neighboring planet before consuming it entirely.
▪️ Star destroys its planet…
Astronomers have identified many red giant stars and suspected that in some cases they consume nearby planets, but the phenomenon had never been directly observed before.
Kishalay De, an astronomer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and the study’s lead author, said: “This type of event has been predicted for decades, but until now we have never actually observed how this process plays out.”
Researchers discovered the event using multiple ground-based observatories and the Near-Earth Object Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft.
The planet was likely about the size of Jupiter, with an orbit even closer to its star than Mercury’s is to our sun. The star is at the beginning of the final phase of its life, the red giant phase, which can last more than 100,000 years.
Also Read: Scientists finally confirm what’s inside the moon.
As the star expanded, its outer atmosphere eventually surrounded the planet. Drag from the atmosphere slowed the planet down, shrinking its orbit and eventually sending it below the star’s visible surface. (Picture it like a meteor burning up in Earth’s atmosphere.)
The transfer of energy caused the star to temporarily increase in size and become a few hundred times brighter. Recent observations show the star has returned to the size and brightness it was before merging with the planet.
▪️ Earth’s future…
Five billion years from now, our sun will become a red giant, swallowing up Mercury, Venus and possibly Earth. But for these smaller planets, the light show should be much more subdued, according to De.
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