I Found a Planet Breaking Its Star. I Broke First.
I spent months tracing the data—every flare, every spike, every time that planet whipped its star into another outburst. HIP 67522 b, a planet with a death wish, orbiting so close it’s burning itself away. The first time I saw the pattern, I thought: finally, something new. Maybe this would be enough.
But after the tenth all-nighter, after the fifteenth time I re-ran the light curves because I didn’t trust myself, I started to feel like the planet—caught in a loop, getting smaller every time the star exploded. I watched my own energy strip away, layer by layer, while everyone else seemed to orbit further out, untouched.
I keep asking why I care so much about a dying planet. Maybe it’s because I know what it’s like to be the thing that triggers the explosion, and still be the one who shrinks.
#Science #ScienceFatigue #GradSchoolLife