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Looking Skyward: Did a star just eat a planet?

CAI | By John Basile
Published May 12, 2023 at 12:47 PM EDT
This artist’s concept shows a planet gradually spiraling into its host star. The Jupiter-size planet pulls gas away from the star, sending it into space. There, the gas cools and becomes dust, which is visible to astronomers.
R. Hurt & K. Miller (Caltech/IPAC)
This artist’s concept shows a planet gradually spiraling into its host star. The Jupiter-size planet pulls gas away from the star, sending it into space. There, the gas cools and becomes dust, which is visible to astronomers.

In this installment of Looking Skyward:

A new study details the first observation of an aging star swallowing a planet.
CAI's John Basile talks with Dr. Regina Jorgenson of the Maria Mitchell Observatory on Nantucket about what happened and what it means for our own planet. Spoiler alert. The bad part is a long time in the future.
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In This Place Looking Skyward
John Basile
John Basile is the local host of Morning Edition.
See stories by John Basile