'Fingerprints' inside the Sun could reveal if it once swallowed a planet

Researchers suggest the Sun may have swallowed a super-Earth-sized planet early in its history, leaving detectable chemical "fingerprints" in its interior that could still be visible today. A new study proposes that such an event could explain discrepancies between current solar models and observations of the Sun's internal structure, including its depleted lithium abundance. The research indicates that planets could survive passage through a star's outer layers and leave lasting signatures within the star long after being consumed.