The mysterious flashes of the star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon)
have puzzled astronomers for more than a year. Now a research
team says the flashes may be signs that the star gorged on three
planets in close orbit. If so, it would be the first time
astronomers have caught a star in such an act of gluttony--one
that may eventually doom our own planet. In January 2002, V838
Mon went from a faint speck of light to a beacon 600,000 times
more luminous than our sun (ScienceNOW, 26 March). In the 2
months following the first burst, the star brightened twice
again, even more strongly than before, behaving unlike any known
type of star. Astronomers suggested that the flashes could have
been sparked by two colliding stars or by a star that exploded
after sucking hydrogen fuel from a companion star. But
astrophysicist Alon Retter of the University of Sydney,
Australia, and colleague Ariel Marom noticed that all three of
V838 Mon's outbursts were very similar, with each flash followed
by a dimming and then a weaker secon