Artwork showing an asteroid breaking up under the gravitational influence of a nearby white dwarf star. In looking at debris discs around nearby stars,a group of astronomers has found the presence of water ice. They conclude that this represents the pulverised remains of an asteroid,made up of about 25% water,which strayed too close to its white dwarf star and was torn apart by tidal forces. This artwork imagines the asteroid with a thin rocky crust,with bright ice hidden just beneath the surface,revealed as the asteroid breaks up |