(PLANETQUEST) -- Scientists have discovered plenty of planets that reside dangerously close to their host stars, but a recent find gives new meaning to "living on the edge."
The new planet, named WASP-18b, was discovered when astronomers observed it passing directly in front of the star it orbits, an occurrence known as a transit.
WASP-18b is highly unusual, as far as exoplanet discoveries go, because it's incredibly close to its host star — it takes less than one Earth day for the planet to make a complete orbit.
The closeness of star and planet mean that not only is WASP-18b scorchingly hot, but it's also a planet living on borrowed time. Scientists estimate that within 1 million years, the planet, which is 10 times the mass of Jupiter, will spiral inwards and be torn apart as it impacts the star.
Because the odds of finding a planet teetering so close to destruction are exceedingly low, astronomers say that there is a chance that the unusual system is evidence that they don't fully understand the interactions between planets and stars.
Fortunately, they won't have to wait long to find out whether or not WASP-18b is a doomed world. If the planet's orbit is indeed deteriorating, scientists will be able to detect the signs in 10 years or less.
- Written By Joshua Rodriguez
