![]() Before joining, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. He became 's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. You can follow Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter Follow for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter and on Facebook. Hubble telescope officials said astronomers plan to continue to monitor the Fomalhaut star system over the next few years and decades to see how the star system changes over time. One way or another, the clues should come out starting in 2032, scientists said. If Fomalhaut b is not in the same plane as the debris disk, then it should gradually get dimmer as it gets farther and farther from its parent star, researchers said. Impacts from the debris could create a celestial light show on the planet similar to that seen on Jupiter when the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 battered the gas giant in 1994. That would make the planet increase its brightness in infrared light, they added. If the planet is on the same plane as the debris disk, than it will be bombarded by dust and ice in 2032 when it crosses through the disk during the outbound leg of its orbit, researchers said. In 2032, astronomers expect to solve one riddle that has perplexed scientists since Fomalhaut b's discovery: Is the exoplanet in the plane of the debris disk around its star, or not? A dust cloud could be created impacts on moons around Fomalhaut b, if they exist, researchers said. The rings or dust around the planet would reflect starlight, making the planet bright. Ī set of rings or a nearby shroud of dust and ice could explain why Fomalhaut b appears so bright in visible light images, but is relatively dim in infrared light, according to Kalas. The research was unveiled Tuesday at the 221st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Long Beach, Calif.Īnother tantalizing theory suggests Fomalhaut b may have Saturn-like rings and be destined for a spectacular crash through the debris disk around the star Fomalhaut in the year 2032. Scientists call the extremes of such a planet’s path a highly eccentric orbit.įomalhaut b's path, scientists say, sends the planet crashing through the surrounding debris disk during its 2,000-year orbit around its parent star. ![]() Stranger still: The planet Fomalhaut b appears to approach with 4.6 billion miles (7.4 billion km) of its star at the closest point in its orbit, then swing way out to a point about 27 billion miles (43.4 billion km) away at the farthest point. The debris belt spans a vast region of space between 14 billion and 20 billion miles (22.5 billion to 32.1 billion kilometers) around the star. ![]() ![]() The latest observations of the odd planetary system revealed that the dusty debris disk surrounding the star Fomalhaut is much wider than previously thought. In 2012, astronomers resurrected Fomalhaut b's planet status when new observations proved there was a planetary object embedded in a free-floating dust cloud. After first being discovered in 2008, subsequent studies suggested the planet was nothing more than a huge dust cloud. In October, scientists dubbed the world a " zombie planet" because it appeared to rise from the academic grave. ![]()
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