Cosmoview Episode 68: Astronomers Witness Star Devouring Planet: Possible Preview of the Ultimate Fate of Earth
Astronomers using the Gemini South telescope in Chile, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, have observed the first compelling evidence of a dying Sun-like star engulfing an exoplanet. The “smoking gun” of this event was seen in a long and low-energy outburst from the star — the telltale signature of a planet skimming along a star’s surface. This never-before-seen process may herald the ultimate fate of Earth when our own Sun nears the end of its life in about five billion years.
Credit:
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Garlick, ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen), M.Paredes, Kwon O Chul, N. Bartmann
Music: Stellardrone - In Time
About the Video
Id: | noirlab2311a |
Release date: | May 3, 2023, 8 a.m. |
Related releases: | noirlab2311 |
Duration: | 01 m 08 s |
Frame rate: | 29.97 |