Astronomers have found two planets around two separate stars that are succumbing to their stars’ intense heat. Both are disintegrating before our telescopic eyes, leaving trails of debris similar to a comet’s. Both are ultra-short-period planets (USPs) that orbit their stars rapidly.
These planets are a rare sub-class of USPs that are not massive enough to hold onto their material. Astronomers know of only three other disintegrating planets.
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