Tag

Planet Formation

All articles tagged with #planet formation

space14 days ago•6 min saved

Hubble Reveals the Biggest Chaotic Planet-Forming Disk Yet

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the sharpest visible-light images yet of a colossal, highly irregular protoplanetary disk around a young star about 1,000 light-years away, nicknamed Dracula’s Chivito. The disk spans roughly 400 billion miles (about 40 times the solar system’s diameter to the Kuiper Belt) and is filled with massive, uneven filaments and wisps, suggesting turbulent accretion or external influences. With a mass estimated at 10–30 Jupiter masses, it could form several giant planets, underscoring that planet formation can be far more chaotic and dynamic than traditional models suggest. Future observations may reveal whether the central star is single or binary and shed light on how such extreme environments shape emerging planetary systems.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#disk-asymmetry #draculas-chivito #hubble-space-telescope

science19 days ago•5 min saved

Massive star clusters escape birth clouds first, sparking early UV glow in galaxies

Webb and Hubble studied roughly 9,000 young star clusters in four nearby galaxies (M51, M83, NGC 4449, NGC 628) and found the most massive clusters clear their birth clouds and begin emitting ultraviolet light after about 5 million years, while less massive clusters emerge after 7–8 million years—offering new constraints on how stellar feedback drives galactic evolution and influences early planet formation.

via European Space Agency|

#galactic-evolution #planet-formation #science

space22 days ago•4 min saved

TESS Finds 27 Hidden Worlds by Timing Eclipses in Binary Stars

NASA’s TESS analyzed 1,590 eclipsing binaries and found 27 candidate exoplanets by timing the stars’ mutual eclipses, a method that can detect planets even when they don’t transit. The candidates range from ~12 Earth masses to ~10 Jupiter masses, with confirmation needing follow-up velocity measurements; the work expands planet searches in binary systems beyond the standard transit approach.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#binary-stars #eclipsing-binaries #exoplanets

space27 days ago•71 min saved

Two suns, more worlds: binary stars may birth more planets than single stars

New simulations suggest planets may form more easily in the outer parts of circumbinary disks around binary stars, as inner zones near the stars are too chaotic. Beyond a “forbidden zone,” disks can become gravitationally unstable and fragment to form multiple planets—often gas giants—while some worlds may be ejected as rogue planets. The study implies binary-star systems could host many planets, making Tatooine-like worlds less rare, and points to ALMA, JWST, and future telescopes to observe such disks; over 50 circumbinary planets are already known.

via Space|

#binary-stars #exoplanets #planet-formation

astronomy1 month ago•4 min saved

Relativity Could Explain Why Circumbinary Planets Are So Rare

Astronomers expected hundreds of planets orbiting binary stars, but only 14 have been found. New work in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests Einstein’s general relativity drives precession of the stars’ orbits that resonates with a planet’s orbit, destabilizing it. In tight binaries, this leads to a large instability zone and an “80% survival gap” in which planets are likely ejected or swallowed by the stars. As a result, there’s a desert of circumbinary planets for systems with orbital periods under about seven days, and most observed planets sit just outside the unstable region—likely formed farther out and migrated inward to the stability edge.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#astronomy #binary-stars #circumbinary

space-and-spaceflight1 month ago•16 min saved

JWST Settles Planet-or-Star Question for 29 Cygni b

Using JWST's near-infrared imaging, researchers directly imaged 29 Cygni b and found it metal-rich with an orbit aligned to its star, consistent with formation in a protoplanetary disk via rapid accretion; at about 15 Jupiter masses it’s a planet, not a star.

via Gizmodo|

#29-cygni-b #exoplanets #planet-formation

space1 month ago•78 min saved

JWST Uncovers Clues to the Birth of a Giant Exoplanet

Using JWST imaging of 29 Cygni b, a ~15-Jupiter-mass exoplanet about 133 light-years away, researchers find the planet is unusually metal-rich and its orbit aligns with its star, suggesting it may have formed in a protoplanetary disk via bottom-up accretion rather than simple direct collapse. This links the formation of some of the Milky Way’s most massive planets to the same disk-based processes that birth smaller worlds.

via Space|

#29-cygni-b #exoplanets #james-webb-space-telescope

science1 month ago•6 min saved

JWST finds a 'Forbidden Planet' with a metal-poor atmosphere that defies theory

JWST's transit spectroscopy of TOI-5205 b—a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a 0.4-solar-mass red dwarf about 280 light-years away—reveals an atmosphere unexpectedly poor in metals, even less metal-rich than its host star. This contradicts core accretion models and the assumed link between star and planet metallicity, earning the world the moniker 'forbidden planet' and raising questions about how giants form around low-mass stars. Results are based on three transits and require further observations and refined modeling to confirm and fully interpret.

via CPG Click Petróleo e Gás|

#exoplanets #jwst #metallicity

space1 month ago•6 min saved

WISPIT 2: A Young Solar System Taking Shape

Astronomers directly observed two planets forming around the very young star WISPIT 2, about 437 light-years away. A distant giant, WISPIT 2b, sits at 57 AU with ~5 Jupiter masses, while a closer planet, WISPIT 2c, lies at 14 AU with 8–12 Jupiter masses. The system’s disk shows multiple rings and gaps, hinting at a possible third planet and offering a rare glimpse into how our Solar System may have formed; future imaging with the Extremely Large Telescope could reveal more.

via Indian Defence Review|

#exoplanets #gravity #planet-formation

space2 months ago•4 min saved

Twin Jovian Planets Take Shape Around Young Star WISPIT 2

Astronomers using ESO's VLT instruments SPHERE and GRAVITY+ directly observe two Jupiter-like planets forming within a structured protoplanetary disc around the young star WISPIT 2: WISPIT 2b about five Jupiter masses at ~60 AU, and WISPIT 2c ~two Jupiter masses at ~15 AU, with hints of a possible third planet in a distant gap, marking only the second confirmed case of ongoing giant-planet formation.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#eso-vlt-sphere-gravity #giant-planets #planet-formation

space2 months ago•73 min saved

Budding planets around a newborn star reveal early solar-system formation

Astronomers studying the young star WISPIT 2, located about 437 light-years away and ~5.4 million years old, have directly detected two forming planets—WISPIT 2b and WISPIT 2c—in the star’s surrounding protoplanetary disk, carving gaps as they grow. Hints of a third planet farther out have researchers hopeful, and the system offers a rare look at how solar systems like our own form; observations via the VLT (with SPHERE and GRAVITY+ upgrades) suggest future clues may be revealed by the ELT.

via Space|

#astronomy #exoplanets #planet-formation

space2 months ago•5 min saved

Sulfur-Scented Exoplanet Redefines Planet Types

Scientists using JWST have identified L 98-59 d, a 1.6× Earth-radius exoplanet 35 light-years away with a global magma ocean that stores sulfur, producing a sulfur-rich atmosphere including hydrogen sulfide; its low density and molten interior challenge existing small-planet categories. Computer models trace its five-billion-year evolution from a volatile-rich world that cooled and shrank while preserving sulfur, implying more exotic planet types exist—though the planet is unlikely to host life.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#exoplanet #l-98-59-d #magma-ocean

science2 months ago•5 min saved

JWST Uncovers Sulfur Clues That Redefine How Giant Exoplanets Form

A JWST study of HR 8799’s three inner gas giants detects hydrogen sulfide in their atmospheres, revealing heavy-element enrichment consistent with solid-material accretion during formation. The finding suggests these 5–10 Jupiter-mass planets may have formed in a Jupiter-like way despite their wide, distant orbits, challenging simple core-accretion models and hinting at a more complex, potentially mixed formation path; the results were published in Nature Astronomy.

via ScienceAlert|

#exoplanets #hr-8799 #jwst

space3 months ago•5 min saved

Snowman-Shaped Kuiper Belt Object Reveals a Quiet Route to Planet Formation

A new study shows Arrokoth-like bilobed objects can form directly from the gravitational collapse of small pebbles in the early solar system, producing the snowman shape without violent mergers and suggesting such binaries may be more common in the Kuiper Belt; simulations found several instances of this outcome, supporting a calmer path to planet formation.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#arrokoth #contact-binary #gravitational-collapse

science3 months ago•6 min saved

JWST Discovers Hydrogen Sulfide on Distant Super-Jupiters, Illuminating Planet-Formation Paths

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers detected hydrogen sulfide in the atmospheres of HR 8799’s inner gas giants (c, d, e), suggesting sulfur came from solid material in their birth disks and signaling a universal pattern of heavy-element enrichment during planet formation. The study also showcases a direct-imaging technique that could, in time, help study Earth-like worlds for biosignatures.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#exoplanets #hr-8799 #hydrogen-sulfide