US EditionHubble Space Telescope spies dusty debris from two cosmic collisions
Hubble observed two rare collisions of planetesimals, roughly 60 km wide, in the Fomalhaut system, challenging theories that such impacts occur only once every 100,000 years.
- December 18, 2025: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recorded the aftermath of two cosmic collisions around Fomalhaut, with findings published in Science.
- An international team found that two planetesimal collisions created expanding dust clouds, including Fomalhaut cs1 and Fomalhaut cs2, resolving the long-standing disappearing Fomalhaut b mystery.
- From the cloud size, researchers estimate the impactors were around 30 kilometers in diameter, and theory suggests such collisions are rare in the same vicinity.
- An approved JWST follow-up program using NIRCam will measure the debris' color and composition, while researchers plan monitoring in the coming years to observe its evolution and disintegration.
- Detecting two events within two decades enables researchers to estimate collision timescales and provides a rare laboratory to study planetesimals and planet formation processes, cautioning direct-imaging searches and future missions.
55 Articles
55 Articles
Cosmic Collision Caught on Camera
With the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continuing to grab headlines, it’s easy to forget the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is still zipping around Earth, monitoring the stars. First launched in 1990, the telescope has witnessed quite a bit in its 35-year life, and recently, it captured a never-before-seen astronomical event—the aftermath of two cosmic collisions. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . An internat…
NewScientist
Anti-Aging, Acupuncture and Health NewsTwo asteroids crashed around a nearby star, solving a cosmic mystery
A pair of nascent planets have been caught smashing together around the nearby star Fomalhaut, and in doing so have solved the puzzle of its famous ‘planet’
What Looked Like a Planet Was Actually a Cosmic Crash
What looked like a mysterious exoplanet was actually the sparkling debris from a violent collision between massive space rocks. Even more astonishing, astronomers watched a second collision unfold in the same system, revealing a surprisingly chaotic neighborhood where new worlds may be born. In a rare skywatching surprise, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) recorded the [...]
Massive collisions in the Fomalhaut system provide new insights into the development of planets – and warn exoplanet hunters. The post Autoscooter im All: Massive collisions at Fomalhaut first appeared on ingenieur.de - Jobbörse und Nachrichtenportal für Ingenieure.
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