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Scared of Asteroid hitting Earth? It's Sun's betrayal you should be worried about

Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Muskan Arora

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Stellar Murder Unveiled

A recent study published in Nature sheds light on the phenomenon of stars destroying and consuming their own planets, highlighting the delicate balance between life and destruction in the cosmos.

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Dual Nature of the Sun

The sun, essential for life on Earth, also holds the potential to annihilate it. While it nurtures our existence, it harbours the power to eventually bring about our demise.

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Tidal Disruption

One-way stars can betray their planets is through tidal disruption, where gravitational forces gradually tear apart planets orbiting too close. This process, akin to Earth's tidal forces, can lead to a planet's disintegration.

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Observations and Discoveries

Astronomers have observed instances of tidal disruption flares caused by stars shredded by supermassive black holes, along with dimmer flares indicative of planets being consumed by their stars.

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Prevalence of Tidal Disruption

The study reveals that approximately 1 in 12 stars exhibits signs of ingesting planetary material, indicating the relatively common occurrence of tidal disruption.

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White Dwarfs and Planetary Scars

Studies have also found similar scars on white dwarfs, remnants of stars much larger than our sun. These white dwarfs emit intense radiation capable of vaporizing orbiting planets.

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The Sun's Fate

While Earth won't succumb to tidal disruption, its ultimate fate lies in the sun's transition into a red giant, expected in about five billion years. This transformation will engulf Mercury, Venus, and potentially Earth itself.

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Implications for Earth

Though Earth has billions of years left, the sun's eventual expansion will render it uninhabitable, underscoring the impermanence of our planet in the grand scheme of cosmic events.