Tired of boring round stars?

[major_clanger]

Remember Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity, with the planet Mesklin that rotated so fast it was flattened into the shape of a smartie? Well, nobody's found a planet that flat yet - but according to the European Southern Observatory, they've found a star that is.

MC

Comments

[del-c.livejournal.com]

Gratuitous Other Hal Clement Reference:

Close to Critical is set on a planet orbiting Altair, which is described as spinning fast enough that the poles are substantially hotter than the equator (closer to the interior, you see).

So the planet, which has an orbit inclined to the star's equator, has distinct seasons depending on how much the star's poles are inclined toward it!