The planet orbits its host star in just 30.5 hours, losing a mass of material roughly equal to Mount Everest each time

"The extent of the tail is gargantuan, stretching up to 9 million kilometers [5.6 million miles] long," said MIT astronomer Marc Hon.

Scientists have discovered a planet that is literally falling apart as it orbits its star. Located about 140 light-years from Earth in the Pegasus constellation , this doomed world named BD+05 4868 Ab whips around its star once every 30.5 hours — so close that its surface is being scorched into magma and vaporizing into space.