Doomed Planet May Foretell Earth’s Ultimate Fate

A doomed planet orbiting an aging star has been observed for the first time. Find out what this discovery can contribute to our search for life on other worlds.

Growing up, I was a big fan of Superman comic books from DC. Coming from a rural community myself, I could easily relate to the young Clark Kent being raised by his adopted parent in Smallville, Kansas.

Despite his many advantages, I always felt sorry for Superman. His birth parents had placed him in an escape rocket to avoid the destruction of his home world, Krypton.

The Canadian band The Crash Test Dummies captured that sense of sympathy in their Superman Song. They wrote, “Folks said, his family were all dead, his planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself to carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going.”

Doomed Planet’s Orbit Slowly Decaying into its Aging Star

I felt that same, vague sense of sadness reading about a discovery published this month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. For the first time, scientists have detected a doomed planet whose orbit is slowly decaying into its aging star.