planet formation tagged posts

This is an ALMA image of the dust disk around HL Tauri. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

A new analysis of ALMA data for young star HL Tauri provides yet more firm evidence of baby planets around the star. 2 gaps in the gas disk around HL Tauri were uncovered. The locations of these gaps in the gas match the locations of gaps in the dust found in the ALMA high resolution image taken in 2014. This discovery supports the idea that planets form in much shorter timescales than previously thought and prompts a reconsideration of alternative planet formation scenarios.

In November 2014, ALMA released a startling image of HL Tauri and its dust disk. This image, the sharpest ever taken for this kind of object, clearly depicts several gaps in the dust disk around the star...

The University of Chicago’s Sean Mills (left) and Daniel Fabrycky describe the complex orbital structure of the Kepler-223 expolanetary system in the May 11, 2016 Advance Online edition of Nature. Credit: Nancy Wong

The 4 planets of Kepler-223 star system seem to have little in common with planets of Earth’s own solar system. And yet a new study shows Kepler-223 system is trapped in an orbital configuration that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune may have broken from in the early history of the solar system. “Exactly how and where planets form is an outstanding question in planetary science,” said Sean Mills. “Our work essentially tests a model for planet formation for a type of planet we don’t have in our solar system...

ALMA image of the planet-forming disk around the young, Sun-like star TW Hydrae. The inset image (upper right) zooms in on the gap nearest to the star, which is at the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun, suggesting an infant version of our home planet could be emerging from the dust and gas. The additional concentric light and dark features represent other planet-forming regions farther out in the disk. Credit: S. Andrews (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

New images reveal never-before-seen details in the planet-forming disk around a nearby Sun-like star, including a tantalizing gap at the same distance from the star as the Earth is from the Sun. The disks of dust and gas that surround young stars are the formation sites of planets...

The young star 2MASS J16281370-2431391 lies in the spectacular Rho Ophiuchi star formation region, about 400 light-years from Earth. It is surrounded by a disc of gas and dust — such discs are called protoplanetary discs as they are the early stages in the creation of planetary systems. This particular disc is seen nearly edge-on, and its appearance in visible light pictures has led to its being nicknamed the Flying Saucer. The main image shows part of the Rho Ophiuchi region and a much enlarged close-up infrared view of the Flying Saucer from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is shown as an insert. Credit: Digitized Sky Survey 2/NASA/ESA

An international team measured the temperature of large dust grains around the young star 2MASS J16281370-2431391 in the spectacular Rho Ophiuchi star ...