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Astronomers Discover Rare Disintegrating Exoplanet with Massive Dust Tail

The rocky planet BD+05 4868 Ab, located 140 light years away, is losing mass equivalent to Mount Everest every 30.5 hours due to extreme heat from its star.

Overview

  • BD+05 4868 Ab, with a mass similar to Mercury, is orbiting its star at a distance 20 times closer than Mercury is to the Sun.
  • The planet's surface reaches temperatures of approximately 1600°C, vaporizing minerals and forming a nine-million-kilometer-long dust tail.
  • NASA's TESS telescope identified the planet through unusual light dips, and MIT researchers confirmed its rapid mass loss and tail length.
  • The planet is expected to fully disintegrate within one to two million years, based on models published in *The Astrophysical Journal Letters*.
  • Upcoming James Webb Space Telescope observations will analyze the ejected dust's composition, offering insights into rocky planet interiors and evolution.