Scientists say a possible ancient planetary collision may help explain the sun’s unusually low lithium levels and several other puzzling characteristics.
WASHINGTON — The sun may have devoured a planet several times more massive than Earth during its early life, according to research published Thursday. Scientists say traces of that dramatic event could still be embedded deep within the star.
Researchers led by Mutlu Yildiz of Ege University in Turkey concluded that a super-Earth — a type of planet with roughly five to 10 times Earth’s mass — may have plunged into the young sun billions of years ago.
The study, appearing in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, argues that the sun’s ancient ingestion of a planet could offer an explanation for several enduring solar mysteries that existing models have not fully resolved.
Among them are the depth of the sun’s convection zone, minor discrepancies between its measured internal structure and predictions from stellar evolution models, and the exceptionally low amount of lithium found at the sun’s surface.
RELATED: Florida Woman Accused After Stranger Set on Fire at Gas Station
“Our new study suggests that a planet several times more massive than Earth may have fallen into the young sun and left a lasting chemical imprint deep inside it,” Yildiz said in a statement.
Using stellar evolution software, the researchers modeled a range of scenarios in which the sun engulfed a planet. They found that the scenario most closely matching the sun’s present-day properties involved the consumption of a super-Earth. The result could also help explain why no super-Earth planets orbit close to the sun in our solar system.
Earlier research has suggested that one or more super-Earths may once have formed inside Mercury’s orbit before moving inward and ultimately crashing into the sun. The new study examines whether that potential collision left behind signatures that can still be detected today.
The researchers stressed that their findings rely on computer models and do not provide definitive proof that the sun swallowed a planet. Other possible explanations for the solar anomalies remain. Still, the team believes the predicted chemical and structural evidence could be tested through future observations.
“The next step is to see if these fingerprints can be independently detected,” Yildiz said.