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Astronomers peer into ‘Amniotic sac’ of a Planet-Hosting Star, to see innermost region of Burgeoning Solar System for 1st time

An artist’s impression of the HD 100546 system. A planet that is still in the process of forming could be boosting a transfer of material from the gas-rich outer part of the disk to the inner regions. Credit: David Cabezas Jimeno (SEA)

An artist’s impression of the HD 100546 system. A planet that is still in the process of forming could be boosting a transfer of material from the gas-rich outer part of the disk to the inner regions. Credit: David Cabezas Jimeno (SEA)

Surprising findings in observations of parent star HD 100546.

Dr Ignacio Mendigutía, University of Leeds, said: “Nobody has ever been able to probe this close to a star that is still forming and which also has at least one planet so close in. “We have been able to detect for the first time emission from the innermost part of the disk of gas that surrounds the central star. Unexpectedly, this emission is similar to that of ‘barren’ young stars that do not show any signs of active planet formation.”

They used Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), Chil...

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