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Model of Fomalhaut b Expanding Dust Cloud
Hubble Movie Captures Protoplanetary Collision in the Fomalhaut Star System
This video simulates what astronomers, studying Hubble Space Telescope observations, consider evidence for the first-ever detection of the aftermath of a titanic planetary collision in another star system. The color-tinted Hubble image on the left is of a vast ring of icy debris encircling the star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away. The animated diagram on the right is a simulation of the expanding and fading cloud, based on Hubble observations taken over a period of several years.
- Release DateApril 20, 2020
- Science ReleaseExoplanet Apparently Disappears in Latest Hubble Observations
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Model of Fomalhaut b Dust Cloud
Hubble Captures Protoplanetary Collision in the Fomalhaut Star System This diagram simulates what astronomers, studying Hubble Space Telescope observations, taken over several years, consider evidence for the first-ever detection of the aftermath of a titanic planetary collision...
Illustration of Collision of Protoplanetary Bodies in the Fomalhaut Star System
This artist's illustration depicts the collision of two 125-mile-wide icy, dusty bodies orbiting the bright star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away. Astronomers believe that Hubble Space Telescope observations, spanning several years, provide observational evidence for the...
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov