Alien star eats planets for breakfast

Sol Invictus     (Photo by Jastrow)

Throughout the ages, various traditions have paid homage to Earth's nearest star. 

Ancient Egyptians worshipped a sun-god named Ra.  The Greeks had Apollo, and the Romans had Sol Invictus. Sacred sites such as Stonehenge were carefully aligned with solar appearances.

Although humans tend to think of their sun as a life-giving ally, things might not always be so cozy.  Scientists recently discovered a star that is “very similar to our sun” with one notable exception:  This brazen hothead “may have consumed some of its own planets.”

HIP68468 is hopefully not an identical “solar twin” to our own fiery neighbor.  Ideally, our sun has had more than its share of fuel already.

Resources

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/1218/Astronomers-

spot-planet-eating-star-similar-to-our-sun

Copyright December 20, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved