---
title: "A Super-Black Planet Is About to Literally Crash Into Its Star"
description: "An ultrahot gas giant that's even darker than asphalt is going to crash into its star significantly sooner than scientists thought."
date: "2020-12-09"
modified: "2020-12-09"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/super-black-planet-literally-crash-into-star"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "exoplanet"
  - "star"
  - "the digest"
  - "wasp-12b"
---

# A Super-Black Planet Is About to Literally Crash Into Its Star

![An ultrahot gas giant that's even darker than asphalt is going to crash into its star significantly sooner than scientists thought.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/super-black-planet-literally-crash-into-star.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Crash Landing

A [bizarre exoplanet](<https://futurism.com/the-planet-of-diamonds-and-death-wasp-12b>) that's darker than asphalt is hurtling toward an unfortunate end.

WASP-12b, known as a "hot Jupiter" exoplanet, has been the subject of astronomers' fascination for years. The gas giant orbits so close to its star that its atmosphere is extremely hot — so hot that astronomers still have no idea how it could have formed in the first place, [according to *ScienceAlert*](<https://www.sciencealert.com/one-of-the-hottest-blackest-planets-in-the-galaxy-is-headed-for-a-fiery-death>). Now, [research accepted for publication](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2012.02211>) in *The Astronomical Journal* shows that its time in the spotlight is coming to an end: WASP-12b will soon crash into its star in just a few million years.

## Gone Too Soon

The exoplanet absorbs 94 percent of the light that touches it, giving it a specter-like dark hue. But it takes on a lot of heat, making it easy to observe and study in infrared. WASP-12b completes a revolution around its star in just under an Earth day, giving scientists ample opportunity to study how that orbit has changed over time.

Unfortunately, it's changed quite a bit. The new research, in which Cornell University scientists used data from NASA's TESS observatory, shows that WASP-12b is gradually approaching the star and will suffer a fiery death about 2.9 million years from now.

## Speeding Up

That's about 350,000 years sooner than scientists previously thought WASP-12b would crash into its star — and, in terms of cosmic timescales, means the exoplanet is basically on its deathbed.

Unfortunately, there was never going to be a happy ending for WASP-12b: Even if the exoplanet's orbit was stable, its host star would have siphoned away its atmosphere over the next 10 million years anyway.

**READ MORE:** [One of The Blackest Planets in The Galaxy Is Headed For a Fiery Death](<https://www.sciencealert.com/one-of-the-hottest-blackest-planets-in-the-galaxy-is-headed-for-a-fiery-death>) \[*ScienceAlert*\]

**More on WASP-12b:** *[How An Unusual Planet Makes A Star Act Deceptively Old](<https://futurism.com/unusual-planet-makes-star-act-deceptively-old>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)