Webb studies 21 extreme debris disks, finds signs of Mars-sized collisions

Astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and archival Spitzer data to study 21 extreme debris disks around young stars. About one-third are silica-rich, likely produced by high-energy collisions between Mars-sized bodies similar to the Theia impact that formed the Moon. The findings were published Oct. 1 in The Astrophysical Journal.

• 21 extreme debris disks studied: 16 Webb observations and 5 archival Spitzer ones
• One-third of disks are silica-rich, pointing to Mars-sized high-energy impacts
• Silica-rich disks appear only around stars younger than 300 million years
• Only about 1% of young stars show signs of an extreme debris disk