Hubble Detects 'Exocomets' Taking the Plunge Into a Young Star
Friday, January 6, 2017 - 16:41
in Astronomy & Space
Interstellar forecast for a nearby star: Raining comets! The comets are plunging into the star HD 172555, which resides 95 light-years from Earth. The comets were not seen directly around the star. Astronomers inferred their presence when they used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to detect gas that is likely the vaporized remnants of their icy nuclei.