NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found that a star, previously thought to have expanded and swallowed a planet, actually engulfed a planet due to its shrinking orbit.
Webb’s infrared observations revealed the star wasn’t a red giant, as initially believed, but rather a star that consumed a Jupiter-sized planet that spiraled inwards over millions of years.
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The planet’s final plunge created a hot disk of molecular gas, including carbon monoxide, and a cloud of cool dust. This discovery, made using Webb’s MIRI and NIRSpec instruments, offers insights into planetary system fates.
Future telescopes like the Rubin Observatory and Roman Space Telescope will search for similar events.
Source: NASA Webb’s Autopsy of Planet Swallowed by Star Yields Surprise
