Natural History Wanderings

EarthSky reports about

Ten years ago, scientists speculated that warm dust in the exoplanet system BD +20 307 – located 300 light years away – had resulted from a planet-to-planet collision. Now astronomers see 10% more warm dust in this system, further supporting the idea of a collision between worlds.

When astronomers speak of the process that formed our Earth, moon and the other worlds orbiting our sun, they often speak of collisions. The planets began as dust grains orbiting the newly born sun. The grains came together, making bigger grains, ultimately forming clumps that in turn collided with each other to form larger bodies known as planetesimals. More collisions … and more. And even after the planets we know today had ultimately formed, the collisions in our solar system did not stop.

Read more at When exoplanets collide | Space | EarthSky