BD+48 740

BD+48 740 is a giant star suspected of having recently engulfed one of its planets. The star's atmosphere has an overabundance of lithium, a metal that is destroyed by nuclear reactions in stars.

Planetary system
Detection of variations in the star's radial velocity led to the discovery of the superjovian planet BD+48 740 b in 2012, with the discovery having been confirmed in 2018. The planet BD+48 740 b has a minimal mass of 1.7 and is in a highly eccentric orbit (its distance from the star ranges from 0.3 to 3 astronomical units), which would destabilize the orbits of any other planets. These indications led the discoverers to the conclusion that another planet has recently plunged into the star, been destroyed, and contributed its lithium content to the star.