In A First, Astronomers Observe Sun-Sized Dying Star Swallowing Planet As Big As Jupiter

In a first, a team of scientists observed a dying star consuming a Jupiter-size planet. The star was same as the size of the sun, and its age was nearly 10 billion years.

According to a report by the CNN News, it was observed by a group of astronomers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology. They claimed the event to be important because it acts as a dark preview to what will happen to Earth when the Sun turns into a red giant and consumes the four inner planets.

A study published in Nature claims that the scientists have previously observed other starts before or after the incident, however, it was for the first time that they witnessed the swallow.

Speaking about the same to CNN, study lead author Kishalay De, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT said, "The fact that the solar system planets would get engulfed into the Sun in the future was something I had read first in high school, so it was surreal to realize that we may have found the first ever example of catching a similar event in real time."

The researchers revealed that when the bigger star puffs up with ageing and grows a million times its original size, as it runs out of fuel, it engulfs all the planets around it.

It was described by observers as a white-hot flash, followed by a longer-lasting, colder signal, which they mentioned was caused by a star engulfing the planet.

"One of the key pieces of evidence we were trying to understand is that the outburst was producing dust in the lead up to and after the outburst," said De. "However, it takes time for gas to become cool and start condensing dust molecules."

De witnessed the event in 2020. It took place in the Aquila constellation, around 12,000 light-years away. The researchers needed a whole year to figure out what the white-hot flash meant.