Exceptionally rare sighting of planets colliding may shed light on the crash that formed the moon

Astronomers discovered what appears to be two planets colliding around a distant star called Gaia20ehk, located 11,000 light-years from Earth. The star's brightness suddenly dipped three times in 2021 before becoming chaotic, while infrared emissions surged, indicating hot debris from the planetary crash. This exceptionally rare sighting mirrors the ancient collision that likely formed Earth's moon 4.5 billion years ago, potentially providing insights into how such catastrophic impacts create habitable worlds with protective moons.