For the first time, a star has been observed swallowing its innermost giant planet. Although the planet had not been shown to exist previously, as no radial velocity or transit study was done on it, the evidence is sufficient to conclude that a giant planet was indeed definitely devoured. (Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Garlick/M. Zamani)

At last: astronomers catch a star eating its innermost planet

Many planets will eventually be devoured by their parent star. For the first time, we caught a star in the act, eating its innermost planet!

If you observe the Universe closely enough, with wide-field views and for long enough periods of time, even the rarest of cosmic occurrences will eventually be caught red-handed. In the early days of astronomy, the stars in the night sky appeared static and unchanging, with only very rare exceptions. As we began watching and recording the cosmos more closely, a number of subtle changes were seen to occur.

• Some stars would temporarily brighten for a brief period of time, before fading back to their original brightness: a classical nova.
• Other stars would brighten-and-fainten periodically: the first examples of variable stars, now known to be common throughout the Universe.
• And on very rare occasion, a new point of light would dramatically appear, shining incredibly bright before fading away over weeks, months, or even years: a supernova explosion.

Over time, greater numbers, types, and varieties of these phenomena were seen: transient events, where objects in the night sky are seen to change over time.