Surprising Discovery. Four Giant Planets Found Around a Very Young Star

By Evan Gough October 17, 2018
Surprising Discovery. Four Giant Planets Found Around a Very Young Star

“Saturn mass planets are supposed to form by first accumulating a solid core and then pulling in a layer of gas on top, but these processes are supposed to be very slow at large distances from the star. Most models will struggle to make planets of this mass at this distance.” - Study Lead Author, Professor Cathie Clarke, Cambridge University Institute of Astronomy.

“It is currently impossible to say whether the extreme planetary architecture seen in CI Tau is common in hot Jupiter systems..." - Professor Cathie Clarke, Cambridge University Institute of Astronomy.

Sources:

  • University of Cambridge press release: "Giant planets around young star raise questions about how planets form"

  • Research Paper: "High-resolution Millimeter Imaging of the CI Tau Protoplanetary Disk: A Massive Ensemble of Protoplanets from 0.1 to 100 au"

  • Rice University press release: "Astronomers find giant planet around very young star"

  • Wikipedia page: Nebular Hypothesis

    • Evan Gough