Astronomers Discover New Comet Belt in Curious Exoplanet System

Astronomers have made a startling new find when it comes to a nearby exoplanet system. They've found that the least massive star in the Fomalhaut system, Fomalhaut C, hosts its own comet belt. The findings reveal a bit more about this three-star system and could pave the way for future discoveries.

Fomalhaut A is one of the brightest stars in the sky. It's located about 25 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Pscis Austrinus. Shining with a blue-white color, it's prominent even from the southern hemisphere. In contrast, Fomalhaut C, also named LP 876-10, is a dim red dwarf star that's invisible without a telescope. In fact, it was only found to be part of the Fomalhaut system in October of this year.

Because it was so lately found to be part of the system, researchers decided to examine it a bit more closely. Fomalhaut A's prominence made it a key target for the Hubble Space Telescope. After examining the star, the scientists found a ring of comets and a direct image of a planet, Fomalhaut b. Yet these latest findings show that there's another comet ring around Fomalhault C.

"It's very rare to find two comet belts in one system, and with the stars 2.5 light years apart this is one of the most widely separated star systems we know of," said Grant Kennedy, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It made us wonder why both Fomalhaut A and C have comet belts, and whether the belts are related in some way."

Yet this latest discovery could help solve one of the major mysteries in the Fomalhaut system: the orbits of the comet ring and planet around Fomalhaut A. These orbits are elliptical, which could be a result of close encounters of something else in the system. It's very possible that the comet belt could potentially be what's impacting the orbits. In addition, the new comet belt can also make the comet belt around Fomalhaut A brighter by causing the comets to collide more often and release massive amounts of dust and ice.

"We thought that the Fomalhaut A system was disturbed by a planet on the inside--but now it looks like a small star from the outside could also influence the system," said Paul Kalas, one of the researchers, in a news release. "A good test of this hypothesis is to measure the red dwarf's exact orbit over the next few years."

The findings reveal a bit more about this strange and unusual system. They could also pave the way to future discoveries about this system, which could be crucial for the future. Currently, the scientists are using computer simulations to better understand the Fomalhaut C belt.

The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.