During the early stages of formation, stars are encircled by disks of dust and gas which spin around them, which are known as the protoplanetary disk. As the system matures the disks will from agglomerations and some of them will become fully-fledged planets while others will become dust, carried away by the powerful solar winds.
Such a process is quite lengthy, and astronomers aren’t able to observe it from the start and up to the finish line. By scanning the disks around some of these stars, astronomers hope that they will be able to learn more data about planet formation.
A team of researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan studied TW Hydrae, a star which is located at a distance of fewer than 200 light-years away from Earth. The researchers found a planet which appears to be in the early stages of formation as a large blob of gas was observed at the edge of the disk material.
Astronomers Observed The Formation Of An Exoplanet In A 200-Light-Years Away Protoplanetary Disk
The disks found near young stars tend to be cooler, and they don’t shine too bright in the presence of visible lights. However, they are visible when radio waves are used and the ALMA radio array, which can be found in Chile, is excellent for observing them. By harnessing the power of 66 dishes, ALMA can capture impressive images of the radio sky and even zoom in on individual stars.
The researchers used ALMA to find a blob of material which is as wide as the distance between our sun and Earth while the length is on par with the distance between the sun and Jupiter. It is thought that such blobs are only present during the initial formation period.
There are also some dilemmas since it is quite strange that one disk forms a single proto-planet since most models suggest that several planets would begin to form at the same time. Further research is already underway as the team plans to observe the planet in the future.
The results were published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Andre Blair s is the lead editor for . He holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) from the School of Public Health, Department of Health Administration, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Andre specializes in environmental health, but writes on a variety of issues.