Tag Archive for 'Gravitational instability'

This composite image shows V960 Mon, a young star located over 5,000 light-years away in the constellation of Monoceros. Observations obtained using the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument on ESO’s VLT, represented in yellow in this image, show that the dusty material orbiting V960 Mon is assembling together in a series of intricate spiral arms extending to distances greater than the entire Solar System. Meanwhile, the blue regions represent data obtained with ALMA. The ALMA data peers deeper into the structure of the spiral arms, revealing large dusty clumps that could contract and collapse to form giant planets roughly the size of Jupiter via a process known as gravitational instability. Image credit: ESO / ALMA / NAOJ / NRAO / Weber et al.

Astronomers See Signs of Planet Formation around V960 Mon

Jul 26, 2023 by News Staff

The formation of giant planets has traditionally been divided into two pathways: core accretion and gravitational instability. However, in recent years,...

Development of a ‘bubble’ of lighter sand (blue) forming in heavier sand (white). Image credit: Alex Penn / ETH Zurich.

Scientists Observe Gravitational Instability in Which ‘Bubbles’ of Lighter Sand Form and Rise through Heavier Sand

Apr 23, 2019 by News Staff

Gravitational (Rayleigh-Taylor, or R-T) instabilities are produced by the interactions of two fluids of different densities that do not mix — oil...