Afterglow of cataclysmic collision between two planets seen for first time
by Ian Sample Science editor from Science | The Guardian on (#6FFWN)
Collision of two ice giant planets produced hot, spinning object potentially hundreds of times the size of Earth
The warm afterglow of a worlds-shattering collision between two massive planets has been seen for the first time after astronomers trained their telescopes on a distant sun-like star.
The cataclysmic event is believed to have destroyed a pair of ice giant planets that slammed into one another to produce a shower of debris and a hot, spinning object potentially hundreds of times the size of Earth.
Continue reading...