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Leiden, The Netherlands
Scientists have detected a debris cloud growing in a distant star system, suspected to be formed due to a collision between two exoplanets.
According to the paper published in Nature, the discovery of the growing debris cloud adds evidence to the theory that newly-formed planets in circumstellar discs can collide sometimes. The study also gives insights into the violent past of our own Solar System during its infant stage.
Astronomers studied a star system dubbed ASASSN-21qj, located 1,850 lightyears from Earth. A ground-based all-sky survey detected the star first in 2021.
The survey looked for celestial bodies that changed their luminosities. ASASSN-21qj brightened evidently over a short period, specifically in infrared frequencies.
Clouds of gas and dust block most frequencies of light. However, they allow infrared light to pass through, suggesting a sudden rise in the dust and debris around the star.
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Astronomers believe a large-scale and violent impact might have occurred between two exoplanets in the far-away star system. Furthermore, they discovered a circumstellar disc around the star, where new planets form from the material left over after the formation of the star.
About ASASSN-21qj
ASASSN-21qj is a young star similar to Earth's Sun, born less than 300 million years ago. The star demonstrated an excess of brightness for 1,000 days. However, after that, the light from the star drastically dropped. Then, there was an eclipse that lasted 500 days.
Scientists speculate that this brightening and the eclipsing of the star was due to a giant dust cloud formed by a collision between two exoplanets. They believe that the debris cloud contains icy particles.
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As the cloud continues to revolve around the star, it might cause further eclipses.
The celestial bodies of our Solar System continue to bear evidence of its violent past even after 4.5 billion years ago. These evidences include Venus rotating opposite the other planets of the Solar System and Uranus having an unusual tint due to an ancient collision between two planets. Moreover, Earth's Moon is believed to have formed by an ancient planetesimal, an accretion of dust and ice particles in a rock-like formation, that struck Earth during the infant stages of our Solar System.
(With inputs from agencies)