All articles tagged with #planet destruction
Scientists observed a white dwarf star, LSPM J0207+3331, actively consuming planetary debris, including a rocky body likely similar to Earth, revealing ongoing planetary system dynamics billions of years after star death and challenging traditional views of stellar remnants.
Using the Zwicky Transient Facility and NASA’s NEOWISE observatory, scientists have directly observed an aging red giant star destroying a planet within its own star system for the first time. The planet was roughly the same size as Jupiter and orbited much closer to its host star than Mercury orbits our Sun. The event will provide astronomers with a glimpse into what the future of our solar system may look like when our Sun eventually absorbs Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth. The research will help create a template for future studies that plan to investigate the absorption and destruction of planets by red giants.