The James Webb Space Telescope recently observed a cosmic spectacle: a star "eating" its planet. This astronomical event is named "ZTF SLRN-2020",It happens in our galaxy, about 12,000 light-years from Earth.
In fact, as early as 2020, astronomers observed that this star suddenly burst out with a dazzling visible light flash.
It was speculated that it expanded into a red giant at the end of its life, swallowing nearby planets. So will our sun in the future.
However, according to the latest mid-infrared and near-infrared observation data returned by the Webb Telescope, astronomers found that it did not emit a large amount of infrared light, which obviously did not meet the characteristics of a red giant explosion.
Astronomers believe thatIn this planetary system, there was originally a planet the size of Jupiter, orbiting the star at an extremely close distance, even closer than the distance between Mercury and the sun.
Over time, under the strong gravity of the star, the orbit of the planet gradually weakens, getting closer and closer to the star, and finally falls on the star, is completely swallowed, and disappears in a flash of light.
The whole process may take less than a few months, which is a blink of an eye on a cosmic scale.
