Vessels following stars reach idyllic destinations (8)

I believe the answer is:

sunspots

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'vessels following stars reach idyllic destinations' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'vessels following stars' is the wordplay.
'vessels' becomes 'pots' (pot is a kind of vessel).
'following' says to put letters next to each other.
'stars' becomes 'Suns' (suns are stars).
'pots' put after 'suns' is 'SUNSPOTS'.

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I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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