Using NASA's exoplanet-hunter TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), astronomers have discovered the fastest disintegrating planet ever seen. The planet is crumbling so fast due to bombardment from its star that it is losing a "moon's worth" of matter every million years. Soon, it is doomed to vanish entirely.
The extrasolar planet, or "exoplanet," is named BD+05 4868 Ab and, aptly, orbits a star designated BD+05 4868 A. That star is located around 141 light-years away, which also makes this particular exoplanet the closest disintegrating world ever seen. The misfortune of this planet, BD+05 4868 Ab — and other disintegrating exoplanets, for that matter — is a boon for astronomers. These situations allows scientists to investigate the usually hidden interiors of terrestrial worlds.
Two teams of astronomers, including the observed planet's discoverers, now intend to join up and train the powerful infrared eye of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) on BD+05 4868 Ab to learn more about this troubled world.
