天文学家发现了一颗距地球约1300光年的类太阳恒星TOI-5882可能吞噬了它的一颗行星1。由密歇根大学天文学家Brooke Kotten领导的研究团队通过光谱分析发现，该恒星含有异常高浓度的锂元素，这成为行星被吞没的关键证据1。研究人员将TOI-5882与62颗相似恒星进行了对比，确认其锂元素浓度在比较组中至少达到第97百分位1。
被吞噬的行星质量估计在地球质量的几倍到海王星质量之间1。Kotten指出："行星物质中含有远比恒星多得多的锂，所以如果恒星吞掉一颗行星，就会获得大量锂元素。"1研究人员认为，一个质量超过木星20倍的棕矮星可能曾扰乱该行星的轨道，最终导致其坠入恒星1。
这项研究由来自美国和智利的14名研究人员完成，论文发表于《天体物理学杂志》2026年第1004卷第2期1。科学家还指出，我们的太阳系预计在约50亿年后会经历类似的命运，届时太阳膨胀为红巨星后将吞噬水星、金星，可能还有地球1。
Astronomers have discovered evidence that a sun-like star located approximately 1,300 light-years from Earth has consumed one of its own planets, according to research led by Brooke Kotten of the University of Michigan1. The star, designated TOI-5882, contains anomalously high concentrations of lithium that distinguish it from similar stars in the cosmos1. Through spectroscopic analysis and comparison with 62 comparable stars, the research team confirmed that the star's lithium levels rank at least at the 97th percentile among its peers1.
The team of 14 researchers from the United States and Chile theorizes that a brown dwarf more than 20 times the mass of Jupiter may have previously disrupted the planetary orbit, causing the world to spiral into the star1. The consumed planet is estimated to have possessed a mass ranging from several Earth masses to that of Neptune1. Kotten explained the mechanism behind their discovery, stating: "You are what you eat, right? We know that there's much more lithium in planetary material than there is in stars. So if a star eats a planet, it's going to take on a bunch of lithium."1
The findings carry implications for our own solar system, as the Sun is projected to undergo a similar fate approximately 5 billion years hence when it expands into a red giant and consumes Mercury and Venus, and potentially Earth1. The research has been published in The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 1004, Issue 2, 2026, with the DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/ae71bb1.
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