A massive planet circles a huge star doomed to explode

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  • RESEARCH UPDATE

Confirmation of a second planet around the star m2 Scorpii would indicate the first planetary system to have a pending supernova.

A planet called m2 Sco b (inner white dot at 4 o’clock) circles a star that will eventually go out in a huge explosion. Credit: V. Squicciarini et al./Astron. Astrophys. (CC BY 4.0)

A planet, and an object likely to be a planet, orbits around a heavy star so massive that it will end its life in a spectacular explosion. The pair could be the first planetary system yet to be discovered around a star destined to form a supernova1.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02166-0

Topics

  • Astronomy and astrophysics

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