This young star is far from Hollywood

2007 Aurigid Outburst   (NASA photo)

Whereas Hollywood stars often have keen appetites for fame and fortune, galactic stars often have keen appetites for planets.  At least so it seems.

Scientists are thinking that they’ve finally seen some direct evidence of the latter.  Due to the variability in brightness of a young RW Aur A star that is about “450 light years from the Earth,” researchers suspect that its dimming occurs as a result of scarfed-down planetary debris (akin to lettuce bits stuck between teeth after chewing).

This debris creates “a thick coat of dust and gas” (akin to dental plaque which forms over time).  Because there is no cosmic Listerine (that we know of), this sticky situation eventually leads “to the dimming of the star’s light.”  Quite unfortunate, but perhaps true.      

Resources

https://www.ibtimes.co.in/armed-new-evidence-scientists-confident-young-star-could-gobble-entire-planet-775467

Copyright July 20, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved