Two years ago, astronomers believe they detected a star devouring one of its planets. Now, new observations of the aftermath of same event from the James Webb Space Telescope have suggested a scenario previously only considered in the realms of science fiction: that a planet about the size of Jupiter self-destructed by heading straight into its parent star. The scientists in charge of the observation believe they witnessed the first “planetary suicide” in history.
The only noted way for a star to consume its own planets is for the star to increase significantly in size. This happens when a main sequence star, like our Sun, runs out of hydrogen to