--- title: "Planets Scream as They’re Ripped Apart, Scientists Say" description: "An accidentally-poignant study suggests that some planets may emit a scream-like blast of cosmic radio waves and they crumble out of existence. " date: "2022-04-18" modified: "2022-04-18" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/frb-scream" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "fast radio bursts" - "neutron star" - "the digest" --- # Planets Scream as They’re Ripped Apart, Scientists Say ![An accidentally-poignant study suggests that some planets may emit a scream-like blast of cosmic radio waves and they crumble out of existence. ]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Oh, the Humanity An accidentally-poignant study suggests that some planets may emit a scream-like blast of cosmic radio waves as they crumble out of existence. In a [new interview with *Science News*](), Nanjing University astronomer Yong-Feng Huang discussed his and his colleagues' recent study, [published in the *Astrophysics Journal*](), which posits that crumbling planets may account for some of the newly-discovered and little-understood [fast radio bursts]() (FRBs) that scientists have detected coming from deep in the cosmos. Astronomers didn't know about FRBs, which are millisecond-long bursts of radio waves that have yet to be definitively explained, until 2007 when the first of their kind was detected in archival observatory data. Since then, scientists have been puzzled as they try to figure out what causes these mysterious radio bursts as they [continue to pile up]() — and this new theory offers an intriguing new possibility. ## Neutralize Me In the research, Huang and colleagues hypothesized that FRBs could be the result of ultra-dense neutron stars interacting with the foolhardy planets that orbit them. The idea is that these planets get so close to the highly-volatile collapsed stars when swinging by in their elliptical orbits that they start getting literally ripped apart, resulting in elongation, distortion, and entire chunks falling off. After these lumps of planet get ripped off, the researchers posit, the stellar wind of particles and radiation spewed by the neutron star may interact with them and result in "really strong radio emissions," Huang said. The Nianjing astronomers compared their conclusion to two known "repeater" FRBs — one [discovered in 2016]() that [repeats roughly 160 days](), as one that [repeats every 16 days](). The team concluded that the planet destruction hypothesis could well explain both FRBs they studied. There's a long way to go before we figure out what — [or, tantalizingly, who]() — could be causing FRBs, but the concept of it being a stellar scream of radio waves certainly does provide dramatic flair. **READ MORE:** [Crumbling planets might trigger repeating fast radio bursts]() \[*Science News*\] **More on FRBs:** [*Scientists Puzzled by “Spooky” Object Sending Radio Signals Every 18 Minutes From Deep Space*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()