Star Devours Planet in Unprecedented Discovery

Astronomers have observed a star swallowing a gas giant planet, at least the size of Jupiter, for the first time. The star had been puffing up with old age for eons and finally got so big that it engulfed the close-orbiting planet. The event happened between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago near the Aquila constellation. The swallow itself was quite brief, occurring in essentially one fell swoop. The findings are "very plausible," said Carole Haswell, an astrophysicist at Britain's Open University.