Glimpse of a planetary crash 11,000 light-years away reshapes planet-formation ideas
Astronomers reexamining archival data of the star Gaia20ehk, about 11,000 light-years away, detected dips in brightness caused by debris from a collision between two planets. Infrared light spikes indicated hot dust from the crash, a rare event that may resemble the collision that formed Earth and the Moon and offer new insights into how planetary systems assemble elsewhere in the galaxy.