According to The Independent, Halla is a giant planet similar to Jupiter, discovered when scientists observed the expansion of Bakedu into a red giant.
Stars in the universe, like our Sun, when they deplete their energy, undergo one final expansion phase into a red giant, about 1.5 times their previous size. Afterward, they collapse into a small white dwarf. During their final expansion, stars can potentially engulf nearby planets. It is predicted that the Sun will engulf three nearby planets, namely Mercury, Venus, and Earth.
Graphic Image Depicting the Existence of the “Zombie” Planet Halla – Image: Institute for Astronomy Hawaii
However, around Bakedu, scientists from the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii have observed Halla appearing right after the red giant phase reached its highest intensity and started to shrink, in a region of space that Bakedu previously occupied at its largest size.
The latest observations confirm that the planet has remained in a stable orbit for over a decade, coexisting with its parent star that is attempting to engulf it. Scientists still do not fully understand how Halla has survived. One possibility is that it was initially in a farther orbit before the red giant phase and gradually moved inward. However, this possibility is very low.
The second possibility is that Halla was formed from the collision of two stars, creating a gas cloud from which Halla formed. Therefore, Halla could be the “zombie” of one of the deceased stars rather than Bakedu.
Alternatively, it simply managed to survive the catastrophe of the red giant phase. This could bring some hope for the future of Earth.