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The vast, metallic nebula (pictured) is held in place by an unknown entity, potentially a massive planet or a dwarf star.(Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld & M. Zamani)ShareShare by:
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A sizable formation of vaporized metal might be concealing an undiscovered world or another sun within a neighboring stellar system, as indicated by a recent investigation.
This enigmatic cloud stretches up to 15,000 times the width of our own world, and it triggered the near-total disappearance of its parent star from telescopic sight for roughly nine months when it drifted between the star and Earth.
Astronomers initially noted the presence of this puzzling nebula back in September 2024. They spotted an unexpected reduction in brightness around the star J0705+0612 (sometimes known as ASASSN-24fw) — a main sequence star, similar to our sun, located approximately 3,000 light years from our planet. The star’s illumination suddenly plunged by a factor of 40, reaching roughly 3% of its initial intensity. This subdued state continued for slightly over eight and a half months, before the star regained its prior brightness in May 2025.
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Within the study, which went live in The Astronomical Journal on Jan. 21, Zakamska and her research team dissected this unique occurrence via data captured by the Gemini South telescope and the Magellan Telescopes situated in Chile. They determined that a substantial entity had journeyed in front of, or masked, J0705+0612. Following the dismissal of potential causes, such as giant planets or asteroid fields (deemed either too diminutive or insufficiently dense to obstruct such a significant amount of light for that time frame), the researchers surmised that the occulting body was a sizable cloud made of molecular gas.
This unnamed cloud has a diameter of roughly 125 million miles (200 million kilometers) and resides approximately 13.3 astronomical units (or about 13.3 times the distance between the Earth and the sun) away from J0705+0612. For perspective, were it in our solar system, it would be situated roughly halfway between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus. At this separation, the cloud completes a full revolution around its parent star in around 44 years.
The newly functioning Gemini High-resolution Optical Spectrograph (GHOST) instrument on Gemini South, which records specific light wavelengths emitted by various molecules, played a pivotal role in this research. It could peer into the cloud more deeply than other telescopes, enabling the team to accurately discern the cloud’s composition.
The outcomes “surpassed all forecasts,” exposing a profusion of metals like iron and calcium, according to Zakamska. The GHOST data likewise allowed the team to trace minute shifts occurring within the nebula, an ability “we’ve never possessed previously in a system such as this,” she added.
Upon examining the cloud’s motions, it became rapidly apparent that this metallic aggregate was being confined by a weighty object at its core. Given the cloud’s dimensions, this object could be a gas giant multiple times bigger than Jupiter, a low-mass star forming a binary system with J0705+0612, or a brown dwarf — a celestial body with attributes of both planets and stars, possessing a greater mass than Jupiter but insufficient mass to commence nuclear fusion within its core.
Should the cloud orbit a star, it would be identified as a circumsecondary disk, as its host star is the secondary, or smaller, component of the binary pair. Conversely, if a planet is confining it, it would be termed a circumplanetary disk. The researchers propose that a star is more likely the agent binding the cloud, based on elevated levels of infrared radiation emanating from it. Nonetheless, confirming this remains premature.
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The subsequent puzzle concerns the cloud’s genesis. The investigators estimate the cloud’s age to be approximately 2 billion years, proposing that it is younger than J0705+0612, which is expected to be closer in age to the sun (around 4.6 billion years). This implies it did not survive from the star system’s inception, unlike the preponderance of akin disks.
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Alternatively, the researchers theorize that it materialized from a planetary impact, reminiscent of the event that spawned the moon. This would account for not just the cloud’s age but also its unusually high metal concentration, the scientists contend.
“This occurrence underscores that even within well-established planetary systems, major, extensive collisions can nonetheless transpire,” Zakamska noted. “It acts as a powerful reminder that the cosmos is anything but static — it’s a continuing narrative of formation, destruction, and metamorphosis.”
Researchers stand to gain additional insight into this peculiar cloud around 2068, when it is next anticipated to transit between J0705+0612 and Earth.
Article Sources
Zakamska et al. (2026). ASASSN-24FW: Candidate gas-rich circumsecondary disk occultation of a main-sequence star. The Astronomical Journal, 171(2), 95. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae1fd9
Harry BakerSocial Links NavigationSenior Staff Writer
Harry functions as a senior staff writer for Live Science, operating from the U.K. He pursued marine biology at the University of Exeter prior to preparing himself as a journalist. His coverage extends to a diverse spectrum of subjects, including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate shifts, animal behavior, and paleontology. His recent contribution on the solar maximum secured “best space submission” at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and achieved a nomination in the “top scoop” segment at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He further authors Live Science’s Earth from space series on a weekly basis.
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