Scientists catch glimpse of star swallowing planet in one big gulp
PBS NewsHourDec 24, 2022
The Facts
In a study published in Nature on Wednesday, a multi-university team of scientists revealed that they may have caught a star swallowing a planet in its orbit — a phenomenon that has not been directly observed before.
The cosmic feast reportedly occurred in our own Milky Way galaxy, roughly 12K lightyears away, in the eagle-like constellation Aquila.
The Spin
Narrative A
While astronomers have previously seen planets just before and after being engulfed by a star, this is the first time the act of consuming an entire planet has been observed. This discovery is exciting as it represents a missing link in astrophysics and can help better understand the full life cycle of stars.
Narrative B
Astronomers speculate the combination of a white-hot flash followed by a colder, longer-lasting signal could only have been produced by a star engulfing a nearby planet. However, more data needs to be collected to reach a consistent and scientifically agreed-upon conclusion. This data is a clue about how stars behave but not the final verdict yet.
