An asteroid found itself trapped by the tidal forces of the white dwarf ‘undead’ star SDSS J1228+1040, then ripped apart. Observations by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) reveal the remains of the space rock within the debris disk of the star. This is only the seventh time an orbiting disc has been discovered around a white dwarf. (Full Story)
Credit: Mark Garlick (www.markgarlick.com) and University of Warwick/ESO