Red dwarf stars may be 'eating' Earth-like planets — study

A team of researchers led by astrophysicist Prof. Robin Jeffries has found evidence suggesting that red dwarf stars may be engulfing surrounding planets, according to a Keele University report published Thursday, May 28.

The study said the phenomenon has long been predicted but had not been strongly supported until now.

“The team studied young star clusters using data from the Gaia-ESO Spectroscopic (GES) survey and found a small number of red dwarf stars with high lithium content, which was unexpected as red dwarf stars should not contain lithium at all,” the report stated.

According to NASA, red dwarfs are the smallest and coolest main-sequence stars, with sizes and masses only a fraction of the Sun’s.

Despite their size, their interiors are highly hot and turbulent, causing the lithium present from their formation to be rapidly destroyed, Keele University explained.

In the study, however, researchers identified six red dwarfs across three separate clusters that showed “higher lithium content than other stars of a similar spectral type.”

The findings suggest these stars may have absorbed or “eaten” Earth-like planets, replenishing their lithium levels through the material from the engulfed bodies.

The study estimates that the engulfed planets may have had masses equivalent to about three to 10 Earths.

“These engulfment events have long been theorised as a possible and even probable outcome during early planetary system formation, and may even have happened earlier in our own Solar System,” the report added.—MCG, GMA News