"Zombie Star's Metallic Scar Reveals Cannibalistic Planet Consumption"
Astronomers at Armagh Observatory have discovered a 500km-long metal scar on the surface of a white dwarf star, suggesting that it "ate" nearby planets and asteroids from its solar system. This scar, named WD 0816-310, is a concentrated patch of planetary material held in place by the star's magnetic field. The discovery was made using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, and it sheds light on the role of magnetic fields in the process of white dwarfs cannibalizing pieces of their planetary systems.