December 12, 2016,
Astronomy/Space
![An ALMA image of the star HD 163296 and its protoplanetary disk as seen in dust. New observations suggested that two planets, each about the size of Saturn, are in orbit around the star. These planets, which are not yet fully formed, revealed themselves in the dual imprint they left in both the dust and the gas portions of the star’s protoplanetary disk. (Credit: ALMA [ESO/NAOJ/NRAO]/Andrea Isella/B. Saxton [NRAO/AUI/NSF]) - See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2016/12/12/rings-around-young-star-suggest-planet-formation-in-progress/#sthash.pbHZ2cMD.dpuf](https://news.rice.edu/files/2016/12/1212_RINGS-2-web-t3zwz2.jpg)
An ALMA image of the star HD 163296 and its protoplanetary disk as seen in dust. New observations suggested that two planets, each about the size of Saturn, are in orbit around the star. These planets, which are not yet fully formed, revealed themselves in the dual imprint they left in both the dust and the gas portions of the star’s protoplanetary disk. (Credit: ALMA [ESO/NAOJ/NRAO]/Andrea Isella/B. Saxton [NRAO/AUI/NSF])
This artist’s impression of the water snowline around the young star V883 Orionis, as detected with ALMA. Credit: A. Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
A violent outburst by the young star V883 Orionis has given astronomers their first view of a water “snowline” in a protoplanetary disk – the transition point around the star where the temperature and pressure are low enough for water ice to form. An abrupt increase in the brightness of the star “flash heated” the inner portion of the disk, pushing the water snowline out much farther than normal, enabling astronomers to image it with ALMA. Under normal conditions, the water snowline would be much too close to the protostar to observe directly, even with ALMA’s remarkable resolution.
Typically, heat from a young Sun-like star preve...
Read More
This false-color image from a sub-millimeter interferometric telescope shows the circumstellar disk of gas and dust that surrounds star CI Tau. Credit: Stephane Guilloteau/University of Bordeaux
Jupiter-like ‘CI Tau b’ orbits 2 million-year-old star in constellation Taurus. In contradiction to the long-standing idea that larger planets take longer to form, US astronomers today announced the discovery of a giant planet in close orbit around a star so young that it still retains a disk of circumstellar gas and dust.
“For decades, conventional wisdom held that large Jupiter-mass planets take a minimum of 10 million years to form,” said Christopher Johns-Krull. “That’s been called into question over the past decade” CI Tau b is at least 8X larger than Jupiter, ~450 light years from Earth...
Read More
May 26, 2016,
Astronomy/Space
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...
Read More
Recent Comments