Researchers have spotted an ‘iron planet’ 10 times the mass of our Earth – and believe it was created in an ancient, violent cosmic collision.
The researchers believe that a high-speed collision with another planet stripped off its outer layer, or mantle – leaving a rocky, iron core.
The new discovery was made by astronomers in the Canary Islands observing a star system with four planets more than 1,600 light years away.
One of the planets, called Kepler-107c, had an unusually high mass in relation to its size.
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The cosmic crash is the first interplanetary impact to be detected outside the solar system.
A similar collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object led to the formation of the moon 4.5 billion years ago, many experts believe.
The scientists calculated that the colliding planets must have been travelling at more than 37 miles per second at the time of impact.
Professor Ken Rice, from the University of Edinburgh said, ‘The diversity of planets found outside our solar system is fascinating.
‘We can use this diversity to better understand how planets form and evolve.’
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