Giant debris cloud discovered in space after two objects collide

The alleged collision occurred in the star system HD 166191 in the Constellation Sagittarius at a distance of 329

light years from Earth.Since 2015, the Spitzer Space Telescope has continuously observed this 10-million-year-old star, similar to our Sun, and its protoplanetary disk. In mid-2018, regular monitoring in the infrared showed that the star had become much brighter. This phenomenon indicated that the amount of material around the parent star was increasing and the light from the star HD 166191 was being blocked by an elongated cloud of debris that was three times the size of the star. Thus, evidence of the collision of two celestial bodies the size of giant asteroids or mini-planets was discovered, reports the News9Live portal.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope discovereda cloud of debris as it moved in front of the star. A temporary dimming of the star's light, known as a transit, has occurred. Observations of this phenomenon are often used to detect exoplanets around stars outside our solar system. Over the next few months, the cloud got bigger. However, it became more transparent, indicating debris was spreading through the system. The cloud disappeared by 2019, leaving twice as much dust in the star system as before the incident. CNN notes that this study was compared with observations from ground-based telescopes, which revealed the size and shape of the cloud, as well as the rate of its evolution.

To create such a massive cloud, one had tocollide two objects similar in size to Vesta, a giant asteroid 530 km wide, scientists say. When these two celestial bodies collided, they created enough heat and energy to vaporize some of the debris. Fragments of this collision likely collided with other small objects orbiting HD 166191, which contributed to the formation of the dust cloud. "For the first time, we have captured both the infrared glow of dust and the haze that dust creates when a cloud passes in front of a star," said study co-author Everett Schlavin, assistant professor at the University of Arizona's Stewart Observatory.

Artist's interpretation of the collision of planetesimals in the exosolar system

"Looking at the disks of dusty debris aroundyoung stars, we can essentially look back in time and see the processes that may have shaped our own solar system,” said lead study author Kate Su, a professor at the University of Arizona's Stewart Observatory. “By studying the results of collisions in these systems, we can also better understand how often rocky planets form around other stars.” The research team continues to observe the star and expects to detect more similar collisions using the recently launched James Webb Telescope.

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