Astronomers Observe Potential Planetary Collision 11,000 Light-Years Away
Researchers have detected unusual light fluctuations from star Gaia20ehk, suggesting a possible collision between two planets in its system.
Astronomers have observed unusual light fluctuations from the star Gaia20ehk, located approximately 11,000 light-years from Earth near the constellation Puppis. The star, similar to our sun, exhibited unexpected dimming patterns beginning in 2016, with more erratic behavior noted around 2021.
Anastasios Tzanidakis, a doctoral candidate in astronomy at the University of Washington, noted, "The star's light output was nice and flat, but starting in 2016 it had these three dips in brightness. And then, right around 2021, it went completely bonkers."
Further analysis revealed that the dimming was likely caused by vast clouds of hot dust and debris passing in front of the star. This suggests a violent collision between two planets in the system, resulting in a significant amount of glowing material.
The research team, including senior author James Davenport, assistant research professor of astronomy at the University of Washington, emphasized the rarity of such observations.
The findings were published on March 11 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.