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In an exoplanetary system circling a star called ASASSN-21qj, 1800 light years away from us, two large planets apparently collided leaving a blob of hot gas and dust revolving around that star. The astronomer that discovered the event, Matthew Kenworthy, was looking for something else entirely—evidence of rings around exoplanets. So he looked for stars that dimmed in a periodic fashion; ASASSN-21qj was one of these. However, periodic dimming was not the only peculiar behavior of this system. While visible light from the star dimmed, it became brighter in the infrared, indicating something very hot was orbiting the star. Below is an animation that simulates the proposed explanation for their observations.
While this scenario of two colliding gas giants is not the only possible explanation for the observations, it’s by fr the most likely one. (The runner-up is a combination of two far less likely events: the collision of two small, rocky planets, followed by the heating of the debris by starlight.)
Over coming millennia, the debris from this collision, once it cools, is likely to condense into a new planet, along with some moons as well.
Comments are below the fold.
Top Comments (February 15, 2024):
From Zen Trainer:
This comment by Thinking Fella is from last nights KTK (by Zen Trainer), I was too sick to be there.
Also, this comment by madtownpopulist from WTF, Jon Stewart? by btfjd.
Top Mojo (February 14, 2024):
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Top Photos (February 14, 2024):
Thanks to jotter (RIP) for creating it and elfling for restoring it!