Fomalhaut cs2 | Hubble Tracker

This composite Hubble Space Telescope image shows the debris ring and dust clouds cs1 and cs2 around the star Fomalhaut. For comparison, dust cloud cs1, imaged in 2012, is pictured with dust cloud cs2, imaged in 2023. The dashed circles mark the location of these clouds. When dust cloud cs2 suddenly appeared, astronomers quickly realized they had witnessed the violent collision of two massive objects. Previously thought to be a planet, cs1 is now classified as a similar debris cloud. In this image, Fomalhaut itself is masked out to allow the fainter features to be seen. Its location is marked by the white star.This image was created from HST data from proposal 17139 (P. Kalas)

Image Description: Image labeled Fomalhaut system, Hubble Space Telescope. A grainy orange oval ring tilts slightly from upper right to lower left. At two o'clock, a white box outlines the ring's edge and white lines extend to a larger pullout box at lower right. Two spots inside the larger box are marked with dashed white circles and labeled cs1 2012 and cs2 2023. Inside the ring is a black circle with a white star symbol in the middle.

Object Name	Fomalhaut System
Object Description	Stellar debris disk
Release Date	December 18, 2025
Science Release	NASA’s Hubble Sees Asteroids Colliding at Nearby Star for First Time
Credit	Image: NASA, ESA, Paul Kalas (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Last UpdatedLocationContact	Dec 18, 2025NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterMediaClaire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland [email protected]
Last Updated	Dec 18, 2025
Location	NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact	MediaClaire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland [email protected]
Related Terms	Hubble Space Telescope, Exoplanets, Stars

Download