A new study suggests that aging stars may be wiping out the giant planets that orbit closest to them. The research, led by astronomers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Warwick, provides fresh evidence that these planets can be pulled inward and destroyed as their host stars evolve.

Stars like our Sun eventually run out of hydrogen fuel. When that happens, they begin to cool and expand, entering a phase known as a red giant. Scientists estimate that the Sun will reach this stage in about five billion years.

The new findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, are based on observations of nearly half a million stars that have recently entered this “post-main sequence” phase of their life cycle.