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

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