Astronomers have revealed a sun-like star which is consuming its planets. This type of star, which look similar to our sun, are named solar twins. Scientists usually carefully analyze them taking a look at the exoplanets orbiting around them. Thus, they could determine the development of planetary systems. Planetary systems are thought to provide significant data regarding the nature of the solar system.
- A new amazing star named HIP68468 was revealed by astronomers.
- This solar twin seems to hide a dark secret.
- Apparently, it engulfs the planets which orbit around it.
An international team of scientists has analyzed HIP68468, the sun’s twin located at approximately three hundred light years away. They were amazed to unveil that the start destroyed the planets that orbited around it. The composition of this star proved that it consists of a large quantity of lithium, like four times more than any other star of the same age.
This star is six billion years old. It contains a vast amount of metals which are immune to heat, being extremely abundant in the composition of rocky planets. Debra Fischer, a professor of astronomy at Yale University, argued that astronomers might find it difficult to determine the history of an individual star. But, fortunately, once in a blue moon, scientists manage to reveal a star which has a chemical composition that once was part of a planet.
The star known as HIP68468 is one of those stars. The debris which came from the consumption of one or even more planets is stuck in its atmosphere. The engulfed solid material and the vast amount of lithium present in its atmosphere add up to the fact that this star equals six times the mass of Terra.
Jacob Bean, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago and also the co-author of this study, has claimed that this discovery does not prove that our sun will engulf Terra some day. This finding only brings more clues about the fact that violent histories may be the same for all planetary systems, including our solar system.
Researchers assumed that the moment the sun expands transforming into a massive red giant, approximately five billion years from now, Mercury would be the first to be engulfed by the fiery sphere. After that, Venus may fall into this trap too. Apparently, the fate of our planet is quite uncertain. Therefore, studying these exoplanets and solar twins may prove to be extremely significant to obtain accurate answers.
Image source: wikipedia
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