Distant Red Giant Caught Devouring One of Its Planets
Red Giant Sun This artist's concept shows what might happen to the Earth when the sun enters its red giant phase. Astronomers believe they have found the first evidence of a red giant consuming one of its planets. Wikimedia Commons Astronomers have glimpsed the first evidence of a dying star devouring one of its planets, a fate that may await the inner planets -- including Earth -- in our own solar system. The star in the new study swallowed its planet as it mushroomed into a red giant. The star, BD+48 740, is older than the sun and about 11 times bigger. It's located in the Perseus constellation. Astronomy professor Alex Wolszczan of Penn State was looking at it as part of a survey of old sun-like stars. The team is searching for exoplanets around red giants, partly because so few are known to exist -- this may be because they've been...