In a significant observation, astronomers have identified a star actively consuming a planet, a process that is predicted to occur to Earth in the future.
The event took place in May 2020 when a star located 12,000 light years away within our galaxy suddenly intensified in brightness by 100 times over a 10-day period, before gradually returning to its usual state over the following six months.
While stars can brighten abruptly due to various reasons such as supernova explosions, collisions with other stars, or heightened activity in their cores, a recent study published in the journal Nature highlighted the uniqueness of this particular incident. Unlike the norm, the star appeared to cool down in the subsequent months rather than heat up post-brightening.
Utilizing telescopes like the Zwicky Transit Facility (ZTF) in California and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, researchers studied the star across different visible light wavelengths to assess its chemical composition. They detected the presence of molecules that only exist at cold temperatures, a phenomenon described as “peculiar” by one of the study’s authors.
Further analysis in the infrared spectrum, where colder objects emit brighter light, indicated that the star likely expelled gas forming a cold dust cloud. By leveraging NASA’s NEOWISE space telescope, the team estimated the energy released by the star during its initial brightness surge. This information led to the conclusion that the consumed object was no larger than 10 times the size of Jupiter.
The consumption of a planet by a star is considered a common occurrence in our galaxy, particularly as stars near the end of their life cycles. For instance, our sun is projected to deplete its hydrogen fuel, triggering a collapse that will elevate pressure within, initiating helium burning at higher temperatures. Ultimately, this process will cause the sun to expand into a red giant star, potentially engulfing Mercury, Venus, and Earth as it swells to the size of Earth’s orbit or beyond.
Envisioning the Earth’s fate in the sun’s final stages, as seen from the planet’s surface, portrays a dramatic scenario where the sun transforms into a colossal red mass dominating the sky. As temperatures soar, life on Earth would be eradicated, leading to the boiling of oceans and the planet’s envelopment in vaporized clouds dispelled by solar radiation, creating a comet-like tail. The planet would eventually succumb to the sun’s intense atmosphere, with mountains melting into valleys until Earth’s vivid blue turns to a hazy mist encircling the dying star.
Despite the vivid depiction, such a catastrophic event is not anticipated for another five billion years, although life on Earth may face extinction earlier as the sun progresses through its initial stages of decline. Astronomers, having now witnessed a star consuming a planet, aim to observe similar events to enhance their comprehension of how planets, including Earth, will ultimately meet their fiery demise.