US EditionHubble Space Telescope spies dusty debris from two cosmic collisions
Hubble observed two rare collisions of planetesimals, roughly 60 km wide, in the Fomalhaut system, challenging theories that such impacts occur only once every 100,000 years.
- December 18, 2025: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recorded the aftermath of two cosmic collisions around Fomalhaut, with findings published in Science.
- An international team found that two planetesimal collisions created expanding dust clouds, including Fomalhaut cs1 and Fomalhaut cs2, resolving the long-standing disappearing Fomalhaut b mystery.
- From the cloud size, researchers estimate the impactors were around 30 kilometers in diameter, and theory suggests such collisions are rare in the same vicinity.
- An approved JWST follow-up program using NIRCam will measure the debris' color and composition, while researchers plan monitoring in the coming years to observe its evolution and disintegration.
- Detecting two events within two decades enables researchers to estimate collision timescales and provides a rare laboratory to study planetesimals and planet formation processes, cautioning direct-imaging searches and future missions.
60 Articles
60 Articles
In the star Fomalhaut, a supposed planet turned out to be a dust cloud after a collision. Hubble data correct the finding.
Cosmic Collision Caught on Camera
With the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continuing to grab headlines, it’s easy to forget the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is still zipping around Earth, monitoring the stars. First launched in 1990, the telescope has witnessed quite a bit in its 35-year life, and recently, it captured a never-before-seen astronomical event—the aftermath of two cosmic collisions. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . An internat…
NewScientist
Anti-Aging, Acupuncture and Health NewsTwo asteroids crashed around a nearby star, solving a cosmic mystery
A pair of nascent planets have been caught smashing together around the nearby star Fomalhaut, and in doing so have solved the puzzle of its famous ‘planet’
What Looked Like a Planet Was Actually a Cosmic Crash
What looked like a mysterious exoplanet was actually the sparkling debris from a violent collision between massive space rocks. Even more astonishing, astronomers watched a second collision unfold in the same system, revealing a surprisingly chaotic neighborhood where new worlds may be born. In a rare skywatching surprise, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) recorded the [...]
It is not science fiction, nor is it a computer simulation. It is a real drama, captured almost live by the Hubble Space Telescope. Just 25 light years away, here next to it in astronomical terms, two large rocky bodies have collided with an unimaginable force, pulverized each other and left behind a huge cloud of dust. The scene has taken place around the star Fomalhaut, and what scientists have seen there is not a mere planetary 'accident', bu…
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