Sun-like star caught after eating one of its own planets
Astronomers have identified a sun-like star, TOI-5882, that shows high levels of lithium, suggesting it recently consumed one of its own planets. This discovery provides insight into the life cycles of stars and the eventual fate of our own solar system.
Why it matters
Understanding stellar engulfment helps scientists map the evolution of planetary systems and predict the long-term future of the Earth.
Astronomers have found strong evidence that TOI-5882, a sun-like star about 1,300 light-years from Earth, may have consumed one of its own planets.
The team, led by University of Michigan astronomer Brooke Kotten, discovered an important clue in the star's chemical makeup. TOI-5882 contains far more lithium than researchers would normally expect to find in a star of its type.
"You are what you eat, right?" said Kotten, a graduate student researcher in the U-M Department of Astronomy and lead author of the new report in The Astrophysical Journal . "We know that there's much more lithium in planetary material than there is in stars. So if a star eats a planet, it's going to take on a bunch of lithium."
The research was supported, in part, by federal funding from NASA and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
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