For the first time, scientists have observed a star consuming a planet in one gulp, an event that may offer insight into the fate of the Earth millions of years from now. The discovery was made after astronomers at the California Institute of Technology’s Palomar Observatory used scans to observe the phenomenon, which occurred between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago in the Aquila constellation. The star, known as Nike, had been circling the gas giant, which was around the same size as Jupiter, before the star expanded and engulfed the planet. The analysis of the data showed that the swallowing of the planet happened within one quick move and was followed by a burst of light and a stream of dust.
The discovery sheds light on what may happen millions of years from now when our own sun transforms into a red giant and consumes the four inner planets, including Earth. However, while scientists know that stars will expand millions of times larger towards the end of their lives, there had been no observations of star swallowing planets until now.
The importance of the Nike star’s swallowing event is its implications for the thousands of planets orbiting other stars, which astronomers speculate will suffer a similar fate. Scientists have long predicted that aging stars will engulf planetary bodies close to them, but with the discovering of Nike consuming its planet, researchers are now better equipped to observe and understand this process.
Furthermore, while the discovery of the one planet engulfment is significant, researchers remain unsure whether the star’s other, relatively safer distance-located planets, will suffer the same fate. The study published in Nature states that whether a planet will ultimately be consumed by its star is dependent on certain conditions, and future observations of ZTF SLRN-2020, the aging star that completely engulfed one of its inner planets instantly, are still required.
In the meantime, the Nike discovery is an unprecedented rare glimpse into the workings of the universe, adding to the ongoing scientific exploration and understanding of the vast cosmos.
