Star nibbles on planet

Scientists have created the image of a start gobbling up a planet in the Auriga constellation, about 600 light years away, using data transmitted by the Hubble telescope. Although the star is too distant for Hubble to photograph, the data are detailed enough to allow Dr Carole Haswell (Open University, UK) and her team to translate them into the image below.

With surface temperatures over 1500°C, the unlucky planet's literally melting in its orbit tracks, as it circles the star. Actually, despite the dramatic image, the star is nibbling on, rather than gobbling up, the planet. According to Dr Haswell, the star will probably take the final bite in about 10 million years (image and article from the BBC).