8 months ago
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Patch on Earth-sized remnant of star covers larger fraction of pole than equivalent of Antarctica on Earth
Astronomers have spotted a star with a dark metallic “scar” on its surface, thought to be the imprint of a doomed planetary fragment that came too close to its host.
The white dwarf star, called WD 0816-310, is a dense, Earth-sized remnant of a star about 63 light years away that would have been similar to our sun in its lifetime. Observations revealed a concentrated patch of metals on its surface, which appear to be the remnants of an ingested chunk of planet or an asteroid.
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