young planets Archives

October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 by Evan Gough

Planets Don’t Wait for Their Star to Form First

The young star IRS 63 has baby planets forming around it while the star itself is still forming. Image Credit: Segura-Cox et al, 2020.

It looks like we may have to update our theories on how stars and planets form in new solar systems. A team of astronomers has discovered young planets forming in a solar system that’s only about 500,000 years old. Prior to this discovery, astronomers thought that stars are well into their adult life of fusion before planets formed from left over material in the circumstellar disk.

Now, according to a new study, it looks like planets and stars can form and grow up together.

May 21, 2020May 21, 2020 by Evan Gough

Astronomers Are Sure These Are Two Newborn Planets Orbiting a Distant Star

An artist's illustration of the PDS 70 system, not to scale. The two planets are clearing a gap in the circumstellar disk as they form. As they accrete in-falling material, the heat makes them glow. Image Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko

Planet formation is a notoriously difficult thing to observe. Nascent planets are ensconced inside dusty wombs that resist our best observation efforts. But recently, astronomers have made progress in imaging these planetary newborns.

A new study presents the first-ever direct images of twin baby planets forming around their star.