syzygy
syzygy
Chris Stewart & Emily Brunsden
106: Star Eats Planet
48 minutes Posted May 8, 2023 at 1:17 pm.
0:00
48:38
Download MP3
Show notes
Like many of us, as some stars get older, they get bigger. Like, really big. Big enough to swallow up any planets orbiting near by. Astronomers have known this for a while now, but they'd never actually seen it happen ... until now. Emily explains what's going on, what's been observed, why a planet-gobbling star seems the only real explanation, and what it all means for the Earth's distant future.