Solar-System Formation
The Sun may carry fingerprints of a swallowed super-Earth
A peer-reviewed model fits several solar puzzles with one ancient planetary meal, but independent evidence is still required.
Briefed September 12, 2026 · Aliens in the Clouds
Peer-Reviewed Model · Ancient Event Not Proven
Mutlu Yildiz modeled the young Sun with the MESA stellar-evolution code, testing different accretion histories alongside alternative changes to opacity, the equation of state, and convective mixing. The favored scenario has the Sun engulfing a super-Earth about five to ten times Earth's mass. In the calculations, that event changes the star's internal composition enough to improve simultaneous agreement with the measured sound-speed structure below the convection zone, the convection zone's depth, and the Sun's unusually depleted surface lithium.
The model also finds that a planet of that size could pass through the Sun's outer layers while retaining most of its mass, leaving a long-lived chemical and structural signature after disappearing. This is a plausible reconstruction rather than a historical detection: no planet was observed falling into the Sun, and several solar-model ingredients remain uncertain. The author says independent helioseismic or chemical identification of the predicted fingerprint would be needed to build strong evidence for the event.
Why it matters
Our solar system lacks the close-in super-Earths common around other stars. If the proposed fingerprints survive independent testing, they could connect that missing architecture to the Sun's own measurable interior.
What the source establishes
Confirmed peer-reviewed MNRAS paper and model results. Planetary engulfment is a favored explanatory scenario, not a directly observed event or proof that the early solar system contained that planet.
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