Dying stars are swallowing their closest planets, study finds
A new study shows that as stars get older and expand, they end up destroying giant planets that orbit too close.
Scientists from UCL and the University of Warwick looked at nearly half a million aging stars with NASA's TESS mission, finding 130 planets (including 33 brand-new ones).
The research was published in November 2025.
Why are these planets disappearing?
Close-orbiting giant planets are already rare—just 0.28% of the time—but around the oldest red giants, it drops to only 0.11%.
As these stars grow, tidal forces pull nearby planets inward until they break apart or get swallowed with surprising efficiency.
Why should you care?
According to Dr. Vincent Van Eylen, planets do not always survive when their star gets old—so this helps us understand which worlds can last as stars change over time.
It also gives us a glimpse into our own solar system's distant future when our Sun eventually becomes a red giant in about five billion years.