NASA's Spitzer Telescope Observes Asteroid Collision, Possible Birth of Planet
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured an eruption of dust around a young star, possibly the collision of two large asteroids, which scientists say could lead to the birth of planets.
"We think two big asteroids crashed into each other, creating a huge cloud of grains the size of very fine sand, which are now smashing themselves into smithereens and slowly leaking away from the star," lead author and graduate student Huan Meng of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said Thursday in a NASA news release.
Scientists were tracking a star called NGC 2547-ID8, which is about 35 million years old and 1,200 light-years away in the Vela constellation, when it surged with dust between August 2012 and January 2013. The view offered scientists a glimpse into the violent process of making rocky planets like Earth.
According to NASA, rocky planets begin life as dusty material circling around young stars. The material clumps together to form asteroids that ram into each other. Although the asteroids often are destroyed, some grow over time and transform into proto-planets. After about 100 million years, the objects mature into full-grown, terrestrial planets.
NASA scientists set Spritzer's eyes star NGC 2547-ID8 beginning in May 2012. The star changed, scientists said, when Spitzer had to point away from it because Earth's sun was in the way. When Spitzer started observing the star five months later, scientists said they were surprised by the data.
"We not only witnessed what appears to be the wreckage of a huge smashup, but have been able to track how it is changing – the signal is fading as the cloud destroys itself by grinding its grains down so they escape from the star," said Kate Su of the University of Arizona and co-author of the study. "Spitzer is the best telescope for monitoring stars regularly and precisely for small changes in infrared light over months and even years."
A thick cloud of dusty debris now orbits the star in the zone where rocky planets form. The team is to watch star with Spitzer. Scientists will see how long the elevated dust levels persist, which will help them calculate how often such events happen.
"We are watching rocky planet formation happen right in front of us," said George Rieke, a University of Arizona co-author of the new study, which was published in the journal Science. "This is a unique chance to study this process in near real-time."
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