Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
After 40 years of mystery, astronomers believe X-ray signals from a white dwarf reveal the remains of a planet it devoured.
In a rare cosmic event, a dying star may have torn apart a nearby planet and feasted on its remains.
The shattered planet’s debris heats up as it crashes into the white dwarf, releasing eerie X-rays.
A Neptune-sized world still orbits the white dwarf—its days may be numbered, circling in under 3 days.
The doomed planet likely spiraled inward due to gravitational shifts before being ripped apart.
X-ray brightness has remained steady for decades—but a 2.9-hour pulse may mark orbiting debris.
Representative pic
If confirmed, this would be the first time a planet was caught being destroyed in a planetary nebula.
Representative pic
Could it have been a tiny star instead? Unlikely—its mass wouldn’t allow for such a violent ending.
Representative pic
This haunting discovery could foreshadow the fate of planets like Earth when our Sun begins to die.