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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 Date
    April 20, 2020
  • Science Release
    Exoplanet Apparently Disappears in Latest Hubble Observations
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and A. Gáspár and G. Rieke (University of Arizona)

Downloads

  • 1280 × 720, 30 FPS
    mp4 (203.89 KB)
  • 4096 × 4096, 30 FPS
    mp4 (2.69 MB)

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 12, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov