'Fingerprints' inside the Sun could reveal if it once swallowed a planet
Researchers suggest that the Sun may have swallowed a super-Earth-sized planet early in its formation, leaving behind chemical 'fingerprints' in its interior. This theory could explain long-standing discrepancies in solar models, such as lithium depletion and internal sound-speed structures.
Why it matters
This discovery could fundamentally change our understanding of stellar evolution and the early history of our solar system.
It is thought the Sun may have engulfed a super-Earth-sized planet early in its history.
Now a new study has gone a step further by suggesting that such an event may have left behind detectable clues inside our star which could still be visible today.
This idea of a measurable signature or 'fingerprints' in the present-day solar interior was explored by research published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society .
Professor Mutlu Yildiz, of Ege University in Turkey, said: "Our new study suggests that a planet several times more massive than Earth may have fallen into the young Sun and left a lasting chemical imprint deep inside it.
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