NASA spacecraft detected a planet being torn apart

Or is it the new Death Star had just blasted it?

A world in another solar system is literally being torn apart by a star in the throes of death, according to a new study.

The cosmic catastrophe located 570 light years away in the constellation Virgo has been under observation from NASA's Kepler K2 mission, which watches stars, accounting for periodic dips in brightness that indicate something may be passing in front of the star.

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Scientists observed a regular dip in brightness every 4.5 to 5 hours, indicating the mini-planet is transiting the white dwarf from 520,000 miles away, according to a study published today in the journal Nature.

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