Massive planet is being torn apart by its own tides

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Illustration of WASP-12b in orbit about its host star (Credit: ESA/C Carreau)

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international group of astrophysicists has determined that a massive planet outside our Solar System is being distorted and destroyed by its host star--a finding that helps explain the unexpectedly large size of the planet, WASP-12b.

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