Astronomers have confirmed the existence of exoplanets with extremely small orbits around their stars. But what about exoplanets that get close enough to be devoured by their star, and what if it’s an Earth-sized exoplanet? This is what a recent study accepted to AAS Journals hopes to address as an international team of more than … Continue reading "Good Thing We Found this Earth-Sized Planet Now. It’s About to Be Destroyed"

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized planet, designated TOI-6255 b, that takes 5.7 hours to orbit around its star. This brings it just outside the Roche limit. Any closer and the extreme tidal forces would tear it apart into a stream of debris. Astronomers estimate that the planet is spiraling inward and will reach this Roche limit in just 400 million years. Events like this could explain stars with surprising elements in their atmospheres. They ate their planets.

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