Distant Planet DESTROYED by Host Star Gives Glimpse of Same Apocalyptic Fate Earth Faces

One day the Earth will be consumed by the sun.

In the meantime, ASTRONOMERS have spotted a distant planet being devoured by its host star, giving a glimpse into the same inevitable fiery death that Earth will suffer in the future.

The relatively young planet – being just two million years old which is still in its infancy compared to Earth’s 4.5 billion years – is similar to Jupiter in the sense that it is a gassy giant.

The exoplanet, dubbed PTFO8-8695b, is located 1,100 light-years away from Earth and is currently being stripped of its gaseous atmosphere by its host star overheating it.

The rate at which it is heating is accelerating with its outer layers being torn apart.

Christopher Johns-Krull, lead author from Houston’s

“It likely formed farther away from the star and has migrated in to a point where it’s being destroyed.

“We know there are close-orbiting planets around middle aged stars that are presumably in stable orbits.

“What we do not know is how quickly this young planet is going to lose its mass, and whether it will lose too much to survive.”

Earth is likely to suffer a similar fate in the future when the Sun begins to die, causing it to expand and destroy everything in its wake.

It is thought that the Sun will begin to die in five billion years time, with the Earth going shortly after.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said recently of our Sun’s inevitable demise: “In five billion years’ time, our star will be dying.”

The Sun will begin “shedding its outer layers to reveal the burning core, which then becomes a slowly cooling ember known as a white dwarf.

“By that time, Earth will be long gone, burnt to a crisp as the Sun dies.

“But the beauty of our star’s passing will shine across the Universe.”