Astronomers have confirmed that ASASSN-24fw dimmed by an extraordinary 97% over a period of more than nine months, starting in late 2024 making it one of the longest and deepest stellar eclipses ever recorded. The star, located in the Monoceros constellation, was monitored through sky surveys that track brightness changes in stars over time. The data clearly shows a prolonged and structured drop in light, far beyond what a normal planet could cause. Scientists say the most likely explanation is a massive ringed object passing in front of the star either a brown dwarf or a super Jupiter–type planet. Unlike typical transits that last hours or days, this event stretched across months, pointing to something enormous in size. The ring system itself is estimated to span about 16 million miles (25 million km), making it one of the largest ever inferred. As different parts of the rings moved across the star, they created layered dimming patterns, which allowed astronomers to study the...
Astronomers have discovered real-time evidence of a violent collision between two planets in a distant star system about 11,000 light-years from Earth, after noticing strange behavior from a normally stable star called Gaia20ehk. Scientists first realized something unusual was happening when the star’s light suddenly began flickering unpredictably, something that should not occur with a stable Sun-like star. After analyzing telescope data, researchers determined that the strange dimming was caused by huge clouds of dust and debris orbiting the star, blocking its light as they passed in front of it. The most likely explanation, scientists say, is a catastrophic collision between two planets, which shattered
The discovery was made by a research team led by astronomer Anastasios “Andy” Tzanidakis, who was reviewing archived telescope observations when he noticed the unusual light patterns. Instead of the steady brightness expected from a normal star, Gaia20ehk showed dramatic dips and fluctuations, eventually becoming extremely erratic around 2021. Researchers concluded that the star itself was not changing — instead, massive amounts of debris created by a planetary crash were drifting across the star’s light, causing the flickering seen from Earth.
Events like this are extremely rare to observe directly. Planet-scale collisions are believed to occur during the chaotic early stages of planetary system formation, when newly formed worlds frequently smash into each other as gravity reshapes their orbits. Scientists say the newly detected impact closely resembles the giant collision thought to have formed Earth’s Moon about 4.5 billion years ago, when a Mars-sized object slammed into the young Earth and blasted debris into orbit that later merged into the Moon.
In the Gaia20ehk system, the crash likely produced a huge cloud of hot dust and rocky fragments that continues to orbit the star, gradually spreading outward. Over time, this debris could potentially form new planetary bodies, moons, or asteroid-like objects as gravity pulls the material together. Scientists say observing the aftermath of such collisions gives researchers a rare opportunity to test theories about how planets and moons develop across the universe.
Researchers say capturing evidence of a planetary collision in this way is extraordinary because these events normally occur far away and are difficult to detect directly. By studying the dust clouds, orbital motion, and light fluctuations around the star, astronomers can reconstruct what happened and learn more about the violent processes that shape planetary systems. The discovery also helps scientists understand how solar systems evolve from chaotic clouds of debris into stable arrangements of planets, similar to what happened in our own cosmic neighborhood billions of years ago.
Comments
Post a Comment