Cosmic pile-up gives glimpse of how planets are made

By Helen Briggs and Paul Rincon
BBC News
5 February 2019



NASA

Artist's impression of a rocky exoplanet

Astronomers say they have the first evidence of a head-on collision between two planets in a distant star system.

They believe two objects smacked into each other to produce an iron-rich world, with nearly 10 times the mass of Earth.

A similar collision much closer to home may have led to the formation of the Moon 4.5 billion years ago.

The discovery was made by astronomers in the Canary Islands observing a star system 1,600 light years away.

More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47130728