planet formation tagged posts

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 ...

An artist’s impression of the innumerable Earth-like planets that have yet to be born over the next trillion years in the evolving universe. Credit: NASA / ESA / G. Bacon (STScI)

Earth came early to the party in the evolving universe. According to a new theoretical study, when our solar system was born 4.6 B years ago only 8% of the potentially habitable planets that will ever form in the universe existed. And, the party won’t be over when the sun burns out in another 6B years. The bulk of those planets – 92% – have yet to be born.

This conclusion is based on an assessment of data collected by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the prolific planet-hunting Kepler space observatory...

Using images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered fast-moving wave-like features in the dusty disc around the nearby star AU Microscopii. These odd structures are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted, before now. Credit: ESO, NASA & ESA

Astronomers have discovered never-before-seen structures within a dusty disc surrounding a nearby star. The fast-moving wave-like features in the disc of the star AU Microscopii are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted, before now. The origin and nature of these features present a new mystery for astronomers to explore.

AU Microscopii, or AU Mic, is a young, nearby star surrounded by a large disc of dust...

Artist’s impression of a dusty disc around a red dwarf star. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)

Astronomers have found large discs of dust around 2 of the stars, tell-tale signs of planets in the process of forming. “We think the Earth and all the other planets formed from discs like these so it is fascinating to see a potential new solar system evolving,” said the lead researcher Dr Simon Murphy, from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

“However, other stars of this age usually don’t have discs any more. The red dwarf discs seem to live longer than those of hotter stars like the Sun. We don’t understand why,” said Dr Murphy. The discovery of objects like these 2 challenges current theories about planet formation...