Archive · 19 Dec 2025
Hubble Spots Dusty Debris From Cosmic Collisions
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope saw something interesting near a star called Fomalhaut.
Scientists thought they saw a planet, but it turned out to be dust from two big space rocks crashing into each other.
These crashes are rare, happening about once every 100,000 years in the same place.
The dust from these crashes can look like a planet for a while, but then it spreads out and disappears.
Scientists are excited because this helps them understand how planets form.
They plan to watch the new dust cloud to see how it changes.
The star where this happened is pretty close to us, just 25 light years away.
Hubble Space Telescope observed dusty debris from two cosmic collisions near the star Fomalhaut.
Scientists initially thought the bright spot was a planet, but it turned out to be dust from collisions.
The space rocks involved in the collisions were at least 37 miles wide.
Such collisions are rare, happening about once every 100,000 years in the same vicinity.
Scientists plan to track the new dust cloud to study how it changes and disintegrates.
- Who
- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and scientists
- What
- Observed dusty debris from two cosmic collisions near the star Fomalhaut
- When
- The study was published on Thursday
- Where
- Near the star Fomalhaut, 25 light years from Earth
- Why
- To understand the formation and composition of planets
- Telescope
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Star
- Fomalhaut
- Distance from Earth
- 25 light years
- Size of Space Rocks
- At least 37 miles (60 kilometers) wide
- Frequency of Collisions
- Theories suggest once every 100,000 years in the same vicinity
- Journal
- Science
- Study Author
- Paul Kalas, University of California, Berkeley