MIT天文学家领导的国际研究团队发现了一个距地球约300光年的星系ZTF J0440+2325，其中一颗低质量恒星正以极其缓慢的速度吞噬其伴星棕矮星1。这颗恒星的质量约为木星的85倍，而被其蚕食的棕矮星质量约为木星的25倍，两者之间的物质转移过程代表了一种新型的恒星相互作用方式1。
根据观测，棕矮星每87分钟绕恒星公转一周，而恒星每年消耗约十万分之一个地球质量的物质1。研究人员估计这一过程可能持续数十亿年1。MIT助理教授Kevin Burdge表示："这是一种替代方案：与其吞噬它，恒星可以逐渐吃掉它，持续数十亿年"1。该发现已于2026年10月5日发表在《自然天文学》杂志上1。
An international research team led by MIT astronomers has identified an extraordinary stellar system where a low-mass star is gradually consuming its brown dwarf companion in what could be an extremely prolonged process.1 The system, designated ZTF J0440+2325, is located approximately 300 light-years from Earth.1
The low-mass star in this binary pair has a mass roughly 85 times that of Jupiter, while its brown dwarf companion weighs approximately 25 times Jupiter's mass.1 The brown dwarf completes an orbit around its stellar partner every 87 minutes.1 Rather than a catastrophic collision, the star is drawing material from the brown dwarf at a remarkably slow rate—consuming about one hundred-thousandth of Earth's mass annually.1 Based on this transfer rate, researchers estimate that the process could persist for billions of years.1
According to Kevin Burdge, an assistant professor involved in the research, this phenomenon represents an alternative mode of stellar interaction: "This is a backup plan: instead of swallowing it whole, the star can gradually eat it over billions of years."1 The findings were published on October 5, 2026, in the journal Nature Astronomy.1
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