New information from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has changed what scientists believed about a rare space event. What they first thought was a star swallowing a planet turned out to be something even more unusual.
A Planet’s Slow and Tragic End
In 2020, scientists observed a bright flash of light from a star 12,000 light-years away in the Milky Way. They believed it was the first time a planet had been swallowed by its star. But now, JWST shows a different explanation — the planet didn’t fall in suddenly, but instead was pulled in slowly until it disappeared.
JWST Reveals a Rare Type of Planetary Death
Thanks to JWST’s powerful instruments, scientists now understand that the star didn’t expand into a red giant to swallow the planet. Instead, the planet’s orbit slowly decayed over time. It moved closer and closer until it finally touched the star’s surface and was dragged into the core.
First Author Shares His Excitement
Ryan Lau, the lead author of the study and an astronomer at the NSF’s research lab in Arizona, told Live Science that this is possibly the first time a planetary engulfment has been caught while it happened. These events are extremely rare and hard to study.
What Really Happened in This Space Event?
The star, part of an event called ZTF SLRN-2020, was being closely watched by scientists. When they saw the sudden bright light, they thought it came from the star turning into a red giant. But JWST’s new infrared data showed that the star wasn’t glowing as much as a red giant should. That meant something else had caused the brightness.
The Planet Was Closer Than Mercury
The Jupiter-sized planet involved was orbiting very close to its star — even closer than Mercury is to our Sun. Over time, gravitational forces between the star and the planet caused the orbit to shrink in a process called tidal interaction. Eventually, the planet got so close that it touched the star’s surface and was pulled inside.
The Final Moments of the Planet
After touching the star, the planet was sucked in completely. This action caused the star to throw out the planet’s material, creating a flash of light seen in 2020. Dust and longer-lasting infrared light were also released, confusing astronomers into thinking the star had expanded.
Why These Events Are Hard to Catch
It’s difficult to see these kinds of space events because the light they give off is usually very faint. But with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists hope it will become easier to detect more planetary engulfments like this.
Many More Discoveries May Be Coming with James Webb Telescope
Ryan Lau believes that many similar events are happening in the universe — we just haven’t spotted them yet. With better tools and telescopes, he hopes many more will be discovered soon.
“We should be finding way more of these,” he said.
