Giant Suicidal Exoplanet Discovered
Posted in: science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
Look out below: astronomers have discovered that a giant, fiery exoplanet called WASP-18b appears locked in a death spiral with its star.
The planet is about 10 times the size of Jupiter and appears to be very close to its star, according to the Associated Press. WASP-18 is so large that it’s triggering huge plasma tides on the star’s surface, the report said–which in turn are distorting the planet’s orbit. Even crazier: the planet orbits the star in less than one day.
Planet discovered Coel Hellier predicts in the article that within the next million years, the planet will spiral right into the star–which should be good for some spectacular fireworks. “It’s causing its own destruction by creating these tides,” Hellier said.
Like most exoplanets, astronomers discovered WASP-18 by monitoring variations in light from its star whenever the planet crossed in front of it. (Image credit: CARREAU/ESA/Nature)
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