Scientists Observe Dying Star Swallowing Planet for the First Time

Scientists Observe Dying Star Swallowing Planet for the First Time

Scientists say they have observed a dying star swallowing a planet for the first time.

Astronomers² recently reported the observation of what appeared to be a large gas planet being eaten up by its aging star. The team said the sun-like star had been expanding for a very long time and finally got so big that it swallowed the nearby planet.

The researchers who made the observations said the star is in our Milky³ Way galaxy⁴, about 12,000 light years from Earth. A light year is the distance light travels in a year – about 9.5 trillion kilometers. The findings were recently reported in a study published in Nature.

Most planets are believed to meet the end of their life when the star they are orbiting runs out of energy. This process causes the star to turn into a "red giant" that grows very large. The star can then swallow up the planet, and anything else that nears it.

The scientists say the planet's destruction happened between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago near the Aquila constellation⁵. At that time, the star was around 10 billion years old. The team said the swallowing event created a hot explosion of light, followed by a large release of dust that shot out into space.

Kishalay De is a researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He discovered the light explosion by accident in 2020. He was examining data captured by the Palomar Observatory⁶, based near San Diego, California.

De said he was surprised to observe a star that had suddenly increased in brightness by more than 100 times over a period of 10 days. He had been searching for binary⁷ star systems. These are sets of two stars that orbit around a common center of mass. When the larger of the stars takes bites out of the other, a bright explosion called an "outburst" happens.

But De said his examinations suggested the outburst was surrounded by cold gas, meaning it could not be a binary system. He learned from another space telescope that the star had also started releasing large amounts of dust months before the outburst.

While scientists had observed past star expansions, this was the first time they have been able to observe a complete planet-swallowing event.

The researchers said the collected data showed the swallowed planet was a "gas giant" with a similar mass to the planet Jupiter. They noted⁸ that the planet had become so close to its star that it could complete a full orbit in just one day.

The planet is believed to have "engulfed¹⁰" the planet over a period of around 100 days, the team said. The bright explosion happened in the final 10 days as the planet was totally destroyed.

Miguel Montarges is an astronomer¹ at the Paris Observatory who was not involved in the research. He told the French news agency AFP the star was thousands of degrees hotter than the planet when the destruction happened. He explained, "It's like putting an ice cube into a boiling pot."

Astronomers say the same event is expected to happen to other planets – including Mercury, Venus and Earth. De said our sun will likely reach its red giant period in about 5 billion years.

Astronomers do not know if more planets are circling the star at a safer distance. If so, De said they may have thousands of years before also getting swallowed up.

Now that they know what to look for, the researchers will be looking for more similar events. They believe thousands of planets around other stars will likely suffer the same fate as this one did.

Morgan MacLeod is a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Massachusetts. He told Reuters news agency he finds it "humbling¹¹" to think about our own planet facing the same destruction. MacLeod noted that since Earth is much smaller, its destruction will not cause such an outburst.

"When Earth is eventually swallowed, the sun will hardly notice," he said.

Words in This Story

outburst – n. a sudden, forceful expression of emotion in words or actions

engulf⁹ – v. to surround or completely cover someone or something

humble¹² – adj. not proud or not believing that you are important

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

4 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

5 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

6 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

7 binary   

adj.二，双；二进制的；n.双(体)；联星

参考例句：

• Computers operate using binary numbers.计算机运行运用二进位制。
• Let us try converting the number itself to binary.我们试一试，把这个数本身变成二进制数。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 engulf   

vt.吞没，吞食

参考例句：

• Floodwaters engulf a housing project in the Bajo Yuna community in central Dominican Republic.洪水吞没了多米尼加中部巴杰优那社区的一处在建的住房工程项目。
• If we are not strong enough to cover all the minds up,then they will engulf us,and we are in danger.如果我们不够坚强来抵挡大众的意念，就会有被他们吞没的危险。

10 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网

12 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。