Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

What looked like a planet was actually a massive space collision


Around the bright star Fomalhaut, astronomers spotted glowing clouds of debris left behind by colossal collisions between large space rocks. One of these clouds was even mistaken for a planet before slowly fading away. Seeing two such events in just two decades hints that violent impacts may be surprisingly common in young star systems. It’s like watching planets-in-the-making collide before our eyes.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on ScienceDaily

Read more on:

Photo of Planet

Planet

Related news:

News photo

A planet just vanished. NASA’s Hubble reveals a violent cosmic secret

News photo

Astronomers Measure The Mass of a Planet With No Star For The First Time

News photo

Scientists Just Clocked a ‘Rogue’ Planet the Size of Saturn