Cosmic Crash: Distant Star Reveals Planets Colliding in Real Time
TL;DR
Astronomers watching the Sun-like star Gaia20ehk (about 11,000 light-years away) saw dips in visible light that coincided with infrared brightening, suggesting hot debris from a collision between two planets. The team attributes the phenomenon to a catastrophic planetary collision producing debris and heat, a rare event detected thanks to decades of data and potentially observable by the Rubin Observatory in its upcoming survey.
- Astronomers Watch in Amazement as 2 Planets Smash Into Each Other Around Nearby Star Gizmodo
- Astronomers think they just witnessed two planets colliding ScienceDaily
- 'Completely bonkers': Astronomers find evidence of a cataclysmic collision between exoplanets Space
- 2 planets collide 11,000 light-years from Earth in rare sight USA Today
- We May Have Just Seen A Planet Across The Galaxy Get Its Own Version Of Our Moon IFLScience
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