NASA captures image of debris from massive celestial collision
The US space agency, NASA, recently published an image that it said was of a debris cloud caused by a massive celestial collision.
A group of astronomers at the University of Arizona reported in a study published earlier this month in the journal "Astrophysics", that the image was taken when a debris cloud passed in front of its star, and blocked the light for a short period, in a phenomenon called "transit".
Using their knowledge of the star's size, the scientists were able to determine the size of the cloud shortly after the impact, estimate the size of the objects that collided, and the speed at which the cloud dispersed.
Scientists believe that these types of collisions around young stars cause the formation of rocky planets, according to the American "Fox News" network.
Study co-author George Rickey explained in a statement: "All similar cases previously reported using the Spitzer Space Telescope did not provide a full explanation of the phenomenon, but only theoretical hypotheses about the shape of the actual event and the debris cloud."
According to NASA, the Spitzer Observatory used to monitor 100 similar cases, including the 10-million-year-old star, HD 166191.
In 2015, the dust resulting from the formation of that star gathered to form small planets, as the scattering of gas that previously filled the void, causes repeated catastrophic collisions between them that generate huge amounts of dust.
In 2018, the observatory also detected a bright star system with a cloud that obscures the light in a rectangular shape, which "NASA" said was formed from the collision of objects the size of dwarf planets.
According to "Sky News Arabia", scientists believe that such astronomical phenomena may be very important in knowing the mechanisms of formation of our solar system and planets with a rocky structure.
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