Telescope reveals star-planet collision unfolded differently than scientists first thought
“Because this is such a novel event, we didn’t quite know what to expect when we decided to point this telescope in its direction," Ryan Lau, lead author and astronomer at the National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, said in a statement. “With its high-resolution look in the infrared, we are learning valuable insights about the final fates of planetary systems, possibly including our own."
What is the James Webb Space Telescope?
According to NASA, the JWST sees the universe using infrared radiation, a form of light that we feel as heat and is invisible to human eyes.
Examination of data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered a surprising new twist in the narrative of a star believed to have engulfed a planet.
According to the space agency, data suggests that instead of the star expanding to consume the body, the planet’s orbit gradually decayed, bringing it closer to the giant ball of gas.
The event, first observed by astronomers in 2020, was hailed as the first-ever witnessed instance of a planet being swallowed by its host star.
However, through Webb Telescope observations, it is believed that the planet slowly spiraled inward, causing its eventual destruction.
"Because this is such a novel event, we didn’t quite know what to expect when we decided to point this telescope in its direction," Ryan Lau, lead author of the study and astronomer at the National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, said in a statement. "With its high-resolution look in the infrared, we are learning valuable insights about the final fates of planetary systems, possibly including our own."
Artist rendering of a planet swallowed by a star.
(Space Telescope Science Institute/NASA / NASA)
ANTARCTICA’S ‘DOOMSDAY GLACIER’ IS MELTING AWAY DIFFERENTLY THAN SCIENTISTS FIRST THOUGHT
The star is located about 12,000 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way, and the planet is believed to have been roughly the size of Jupiter.
Over millions of years, the planet is thought to have gradually spiraled closer to the star, ultimately leading to its catastrophic demise.
"The planet eventually started to graze the star's atmosphere. Then it was a runaway process of falling in faster from that moment," Morgan MacLeod, a member of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, stated. "The planet, as it’s falling in, started to sort of smear around the star."
In the planet’s final moments, it’s believed that a cloud of dust formed - an aftermath captured by Webb’s high-tech equipment.
Contrary to earlier theories, Webb data showed the star didn’t expand to consume the planet - instead, the planet’s orbit gradually decayed over time, ultimately leading to its destruction.
(NASA)
The discovery raises questions about the processes behind such violent cosmic events - and what might one day happen to Earth and other nearby planets.
According to astronomers, a collision between Earth and the Sun isn’t expected anytime soon. In fact, the planet is slowly moving away from the giant star.
Earth is currently drifting away from the Sun at a rate of less than an inch per year, due to the star gradually losing mass.
In about 5 billion years or so, the Sun will run out of fuel and begin to expand, potentially allowing Earth to spiral into it - a scenario not unlike the event observed 12,000 light-years away.
SEE THE OBJECTS HUMANS LEFT BEHIND ON THE MOON
Space experts say they were only able to make this discovery thanks to the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, which launched in 2021.
NASA anticipates that the telescope will far exceed its planned 10-year lifespan and continue to revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos.
James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror at NASA Goddard. Webb's mirrors are covered in a microscopically thin layer of gold, which optimizes them for reflecting infrared light.
(NASA/Chris Gunn / NASA)