substellar bodies tagged posts

Simulations reveal Hydrodynamics of Planetary Engulfment by Expanding Star

engulfed-planet-500.jpg
In this schematic of planetary engulfment, the image on the left shows a planet inside a giant star, with its orbital decay trajectory as a dashed line. The image on the right shows density and velocity in a simulation of the flow near the planet. (Credit: Ricardo Yarza et al.)

A new study using hydrodynamical simulations reveals the forces acting on a planet when it is swallowed by an expanding star. The results show that the interactions of a substellar body (a planet or brown dwarf) with the hot gas in the outer envelope of a sun-like star can lead to a range of outcomes depending on the size of the engulfed object and the stage of the star’s evolution...

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