Astronomers spot collision between two exoplanets, both feared vaporized

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Astronomers spot collision between two exoplanets, both feared vaporized

Data on infrared radiation and the dimming of the host star's light led researchers to conclude they may have witnessed planets between the size of Earth and Neptune smashing into each other while circling the distant stellar orb.

In 2021, researchers spotted distant star ASASSN-21qj dimming. A subsequent investigation of infrared radiation from the region added to the intrigue. A research team led by Matthew Kenworthy, associate professor at the Netherland's Leiden Observatory, concluded that the best explanation was a collision that generated enough heat for the infrared radiation while also throwing up enough dust to dim the star's light.

"These observations are consistent with a collision between two exoplanets of several to tens of Earth masses... Such an impact produces a hot, highly extended post-impact remnant with sufficient luminosity to explain the infrared observations. Transit of the impact debris, sheared by orbital motion into a long cloud, causes the subsequent complex eclipse of the host star," says the paper published in Nature today.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/unprecedented_observations_reveal_exoplanet_carcrash/