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MYSTERIOUS AFTERGLOW POTENTIALLY CAUSED BY MASSIVE COLLISION OF PLANETS
BBC Science Focus
|November 2023
Scientists have a probable cause for the unexplained brightness
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A peculiar which blaze of light, has stumped researchers for over four years, was likely produced by the collision of two ice giant exoplanets, according to a new study.
These planets could have been similar in size to Neptune and Uranus - the ice giants in our Solar System according to the study published in Nature.
An initial observation by an astronomy enthusiast saw the brightness double around a Sun-like star approximately 1,800 light-years from Earth. The brightness began to fade three years later.
This story is from the November 2023 edition of BBC Science Focus.
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