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Earthly Hors d'oeuvres For Hungry Red Dwarfs

May 28, 2026
Earthly Hors d'oeuvres For Hungry Red Dwarfs
By Evan Gough (https://ift.tt/YrJgdcG)

This illustration shows the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 and two of its rocky planets. Researchers detected several red dwarfs just like it that have appeared to have eaten their planets, though TRAPPIST-1 isn't one of them. Planetary engulfment is a rare yet possible outcome of normal planetary system evolution. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble. Licence Type: Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

We know that stars can engulf planets because stars that swell up to become red giants overwhelm any close-in planets. The Sun will do this to Venus, Mercury, and possibly Earth in a few billion years. But research shows that it can happen when low-mass stars first enter the main sequence. Lithium gives it away.



May 29, 2026 at 03:16AM
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