Star TOI-5882 Shows Evidence of Devouring a Planet

Astronomers from the University of Michigan, working with collaborators in the United States and Chile, have identified the star TOI-5882 as having consumed one of its own planets. Analysis of the star’s light revealed an unusually high lithium concentration – a chemical signature that planets retain long after stars deplete their own lithium – indicating that planetary material was recently incorporated into the star.

The researchers determined that a nearby brown dwarf’s strong gravity likely destabilized the planet’s orbit, causing it to spiral into the star. The engulfed world is estimated to have been a few times the size of Earth up to the mass of Neptune. The finding provides a concrete example of a future fate for our own Sun, which in about 5 billion years may expand and similarly engulf inner planets such as Mercury and Venus.