Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Space
Space
Science
Robert Lea

Mysterious flare a trillion times brighter than our sun could be a 'disc inferno' ripping a baby planet apart

red and orange swirls of gas

A massive stellar flare trillions of times more powerful than the brightest solar flare from our sun may have been caused when a star ripped apart and devoured a massive gas giant planet.

New research could solve the mystery of why the infant protostar FU Ori, located 1,200 light-years from Earth, significantly increased in brightness around 85 years ago and has still not dimmed to its expected luminosity. Astronomers have theorized that the increase in brightness of FU Ori is the result of matter being fed from a disk of superhot gas and dust around the young star to its surface.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.