Distant Star Hints at Clash of Baby Planets
TL;DR Summary
Astronomers studying Gaia-GIC-1, a Sun-like star about 11,600 light-years away, observed dramatic brightness dips (up to 25%) starting in 2016 with an opposite infrared brightening later, suggesting a hot dust cloud heated to ~900 K. Modeling indicates a collision between planetesimals near 1 AU, with dust mass around half that of Ceres, providing a rare glimpse into early planetary formation and a potential parallel to the Earth–Moon formation event.
Topics:science#earth-moon-formation#gaia-gic-1#infrared-observations#planetary-formation#planetesimal-collision#space
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