# The Cosmic Devouring: A Star Consumes Its Own Planet
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Chapter 1: The Unprecedented Cosmic Event
For the first time ever, astronomers have directly witnessed a star consuming a planet. This remarkable event has long been theorized but never before observed. Scientists had speculated that an aging star within the Milky Way had devoured a planet in its orbit.
The unusual occurrence took place 13,000 light-years away, near the constellation Aquila, which can be seen from Poland during the summer months. The star in question is similar in size to our Sun, with a mass estimated at 0.8–1.5 times that of our star. However, it is at a vastly different evolutionary stage compared to the Sun.
Two years ago, Kishalay De, an astronomer from MIT, monitored this region of the sky using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at Palomar Observatory in California. A sudden burst of brightness appeared in the data, indicating that a specific area in the sky had intensified several hundredfold in just ten days.
Section 1.1: The Mystery Unveiled
What could have caused such a dramatic flare? Initially, scientists hypothesized that it could be the merger of two stars. However, further observations from the Keck Observatory in Hawaii cast doubt on this theory. Typically, a star merger results in the expulsion of hydrogen and helium into space, but for the event labeled ZTF SLRN-2020, no such evidence was recorded.
The breakthrough came with observations from NEOWISE, NASA's infrared satellite telescope. This tool revealed that whatever collided with the dying star was significantly lighter—up to a thousand times less massive than an average Sun.
"That’s when we realized it was a planet being engulfed by a star," De explained, as reported by the Guardian.
After gathering data from various observatories, scientists were able to trace the sequence of this cosmic catastrophe. The planet that vanished in real-time was at least the size of Jupiter, orbiting its star at an astonishing speed—completing a full orbit in less than a single Earth day.
Chapter 2: The Devouring Process
As the event unfolded, the star was expanding dramatically. It had reached a stage where there was no hydrogen left in its core to fuse into helium. Instead, helium fusion was occurring, leading to the production of carbon. Hydrogen fusion had shifted to the star's outer layers, causing it to swell.
Eventually, the star expanded to the point where it intersected with the orbit of the Jupiter-like planet, which, in its final moments, began to slide onto the star's surface. Scientists estimate this process took around nine months. Ultimately, the planet was consumed by the star, resulting in an explosive event.
The resulting flare lasted approximately 100 days, and some of the planet’s material was expelled into space.
"The same fate awaits Earth in the future," De notes.
Section 2.1: What Lies Ahead for Earth
What researchers observed provides a vivid portrayal of the potential end for our own planet, as well as for Mercury and Venus. Once the Sun's hydrogen fuel is exhausted, its fate will mirror that of the star involved in the ZTF SLRN-2020 event. The Sun will expand to the extent that it will engulf three of the four inner planets in our Solar System.
"If it’s any comfort, this won't occur for about 5 billion years," says Morgan MacLeod, an astrophysicist from Harvard. "However, before that, the Sun's increasing energy will lead to the evaporation of all the water on Earth," he elaborates.
Section 2.2: Aftermath of Planetary Consumption
How does the consumption of a planet affect a star? "The star today appears unchanged from before the explosion," De states. "It is now surrounded only by a crust of dust ejected into space during the event," he adds.
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