Dust Around Black Holes May Be Smashed Planets

High-speed crashes between asteroids and planets may be responsible for doughnut-shaped dust clouds that veil about 50 percent of known supermassive black holes.
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Dust Around Black Holes May Be Smashed Planets
Epoch Times Staff
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<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/heic0617a_H.jpg" alt="A 'light echo' from dust illuminated by a nearby star, V838 Monocerotis, as it became 600,000 times more luminous than our sun in 2002. The flash is believed to have been caused by a giant collision of some kind, such as between two stars, or a star and a planet. Dramatic collisions of smaller objects like asteroids and minor planets could also release a lot of dust. (NASA/ESA)" title="A 'light echo' from dust illuminated by a nearby star, V838 Monocerotis, as it became 600,000 times more luminous than our sun in 2002. The flash is believed to have been caused by a giant collision of some kind, such as between two stars, or a star and a planet. Dramatic collisions of smaller objects like asteroids and minor planets could also release a lot of dust. (NASA/ESA)" width="590" class="size-medium wp-image-1795512"/></a>
A 'light echo' from dust illuminated by a nearby star, V838 Monocerotis, as it became 600,000 times more luminous than our sun in 2002. The flash is believed to have been caused by a giant collision of some kind, such as between two stars, or a star and a planet. Dramatic collisions of smaller objects like asteroids and minor planets could also release a lot of dust. (NASA/ESA)
Epoch Times Staff
Epoch Times Staff
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