Dying Stars DEVOURING Planets — NASA Confirms

Illustration of the solar system with the sun and planets

Astronomers have confirmed that dying stars are systematically destroying their planets through tidal forces, providing the first population-level evidence of a cosmic fate that awaits our own Solar System in billions of years.

Story Snapshot

University College London and University of Warwick researchers analyzed NASA TESS data showing giant planets are three times rarer around old red giant stars than younger stars
Study confirms tidal forces cause close-orbiting gas giants to spiral into expanding dying stars, with occurrence rates dropping from 0.35% to 0.11% as stars age
Research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society provides empirical confirmation of long-standing theoretical predictions about planetary destruction
Findings preview Earth’s distant fate when our Sun becomes a red giant in approximately five billion years, though our planet may narrowly escape engulfment

NASA Data Reveals Planetary Destruction at Scale

Dr. Edward Bryant from University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory led a team analyzing data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, examining approximately 130 transiting planets across thousands of stars. The October 2025 study measured giant planet occurrence rates around post-main-sequence stars compared to main-sequence stars like our Sun. Researchers found an overall occurrence rate of 0.28 percent for giant planets around evolved stars, significantly lower than expected. The team excluded twelve of the smallest planets to focus on clear statistical patterns revealing age-dependent planetary losses.

Tidal Forces Drive Orbital Decay and Engulfment

The research demonstrates that as stars exhaust their hydrogen fuel and expand into red giants—swelling more than 100 times their original radius—gravitational tidal forces drag close-orbiting planets inward through a process similar to how the Moon gradually slows Earth’s rotation. Bryant expressed surprise at the efficiency of this destruction mechanism, noting the statistical evidence showed a clear deficit of hot Jupiters around older red giants. Stars in their red giant phase extend their envelopes to approximately one astronomical unit, dooming any planets orbiting within that distance to inspiral and eventual consumption or tearing apart by tidal stresses.

Evidence Rules Out Formation Bias Explanations

The study carefully controlled for alternative explanations by verifying that the observed planet deficit was not due to differences in how planetary systems form around different types of stars. Researchers confirmed that the red giant stars in their sample had similar masses and chemical compositions to the younger post-main-sequence stars, eliminating formation bias as a factor. The dramatic drop in giant planet occurrence from 0.35 percent around younger evolved stars to just 0.11 percent around red giants directly correlates with stellar age and expansion, not with inherent differences in planetary system architecture during formation.

Solar System Fate Previewed in Cosmic Census

The findings carry implications for understanding the ultimate fate of our own Solar System when the Sun enters its red giant phase in approximately five billion years. Current models predict the expanding Sun will engulf Mercury and Venus entirely, while Earth’s orbit at one astronomical unit may place it just beyond the final envelope boundary. However, even if Earth avoids complete engulfment, the intense radiation and loss of the Sun’s outer layers will strip away our atmosphere and oceans, rendering the planet a charred, uninhabitable remnant. The research confirms this scenario is not merely theoretical but an observable, measurable process occurring throughout the galaxy among approximately one billion post-main-sequence stars.

The study builds on a 2023 direct observation by NOIRLab of a single planet-engulfment event 12,000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila, detected through infrared flares. Unlike that singular case, the 2025 research provides statistical confirmation across large stellar populations that this destruction mechanism operates systematically and efficiently. Bryant and his colleagues presented their findings at a November 2025 conference, noting the results will guide future missions like the European Space Agency’s PLATO satellite, scheduled for late 2026 launch, which will probe planetary systems around even older red giant stars to refine understanding of tidal decay physics and planetary survival thresholds.