protoplanetary disk
Astronomers see an Accretion Disk Where Planets are About to Form
Planet formation is notoriously difficult to study. Not only does the process take millions of years, making it impossible to…
Planets may Start Forming Before the Star is Even Finished
Planets form from the accumulation of countless grains of dust swirling around young stars. New computer simulations have found that…
Young Stars can Evaporate Nearby Disks Before They can Form Planets
Many planetary systems may get snuffed out before they even get a chance to form, according to new research. The…
This Exoplanetary System Breaks all the Rules
It's just like a normal solar system...except completely backwards. (more…)
Astronomers are now Finding Planetary Disks Around the Smallest, Least Massive Stars
Astronomers have been watching planetary systems form around sun-like stars for decades. And now, new observations with the ALMA telescope…
Spiral-shaped Planetary Disks Should Be More Common. Giant Planets Might Be Disrupting Their Formation
Planetary system formation is a process that involves astounding and complex forces. Humans have only just started trying to understand…
Astronomers See a Newly Forming Planetary Disk That’s Continuing to Feed On Material from its Nebula
Over the last few years, astronomers have observed distant solar systems in their early stages of growth. ALMA (Atacama Large…
Weekly Space Hangout: October 14, 2020, Drs. Jane Huang & Jonathan Williams, Protoplanetary Disks
This week we are joined by Dr. Jane Huang and Dr. Jonathan Willams from the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard &…
Newly forming star has spiral arms like a tiny galaxy
Protoplanetary disks - where young stars are forming their families of planets - usually form concentric rings of gaps. But…
Planets Form in Just a Few Hundred Thousand Years
Astronomers like to observe young planets forming in circumstellar debris disks, the rotating rings of material around young stars. But…