Astronomers have long puzzled over why our solar system lacks a super-Earth, a planetary type commonly found throughout the galaxy. A new study from Ege University researcher Mutlu Yildiz offers a striking explanation: the sun may have consumed one billions of years ago.
Using computer simulations, Yildiz modeled the young sun’s evolution with and without an absorbed planet. When he incorporated a dense, rocky super-Earth roughly five to ten times Earth’s mass into his calculations, the results closely matched current solar observations. The research, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, represents one of the first comprehensive investigations into whether the sun retains detectable signatures of planetary consumption.
A key piece of evidence involves lithium depletion. The sun’s surface contains over 100 times less lithium than scientists expect based on its original composition. Since lithium atoms break apart only in extreme heat deep within stars, this shortage suggests something may have transported material downward. Yildiz’s models show that incorporating a lithium-poor, heavy-element-rich planet would explain both the missing lithium and the sun’s internal structure.
The research also demonstrates that a compact, iron-rich planet could physically survive its descent through solar gas long enough to deposit material at the correct depth. While this study doesn’t prove the sun devoured a super-Earth, it shows that such a scenario aligns better with observable solar properties than models without planetary consumption. Scientists continue investigating whether independent methods might confirm these hypothetical planetary fingerprints.
Originally reported by Mashable →
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