Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Planet with comet-like tail observed disintegrating near its star
Astronomers have spotted a small rocky planet that orbits perilously close to its host star disintegrating as its surface is vaporized by stellar heat, trailed by a comet-like tail of mineral dust up to about 5.6 million miles (9 million km) long. About 5,800 planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets, have been discovered since the 1990s. Of those, only four have been observed disintegrating in orbit, as this one is. This planet is the closest to our solar system of the four, giving scientists a unique opportunity to learn about what happens to these doomed worlds.
