Tag Archive for 'Protoplanet'

This composite image shows both ALMA and SPHERE/VLT observations of the disk around GW Orionis. The ALMA image (blue) shows the disk’s ringed structure, with the innermost ring (part of which is visible as an oblong dot at the very center of the image) separated from the rest of the disk. The SPHERE observations (orange-red) allowed the astronomers to see for the first time the shadow of this innermost ring on the rest of the disk, which made it possible for them to reconstruct its warped shape. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / ESO / University of Exeter / Kraus et al.

Astronomers Find Misaligned and Warped Protoplanetary Disk around Triple-Star System

Sep 3, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) instrument...

When the Moon formed into a sphere approximately 1,700 km in radius 4.425 billion years ago, its interior heated up considerably due to the energy released when it accreted. The rock melted and an ocean of magma, possibly more than 1,000 km deep, formed. Later, light rocks crystallized, which rose to the surface and formed a first crust on the Moon. This crust insulated the Moon from space, and the magma ocean beneath it cooled down slowly. Around 200 million years would pass before the Moon completely solidified. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Moon May Be 85 Million Years Younger than Thought

Jul 15, 2020 by News Staff

Earth’s only natural satellite formed 4.425 billion years ago — around 85 million years later than previous estimates, according to a new modeling...

This Hubble image shows the Serpens Nebula, a stellar nursery about 1,300 light-years away. Within the nebula, in the upper right of the image, a shadow is created by the protoplanetary disk surrounding HBC 672. While the disk of debris is too tiny to be seen even by Hubble, its shadow is projected upon the cloud in which it was born. In this view, the feature, the Bat Shadow, spans approximately 200 times the diameter of our own Solar System. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI.

Hubble Observes ‘Flapping’ Shadow of HBC 672’s Planet-Forming Disk

Jun 26, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured striking images of HBC 672’s unseen protoplanetary disk casting a huge shadow across...

An artist’s impression of the Peter Pan disk around WISE J080822.18-644357.3, a red dwarf located about 331 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Carina. Image credit: Jonathan Holden / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Astronomers Reveal Secrets of ‘Peter Pan’ Protoplanetary Disks

Jun 11, 2020 by News Staff

Peter Pan disks are a recently-discovered class of long-lived protoplanetary disks around low-mass stars that survive 5-10 times longer than typical protoplanetary...

This image from VLT’s SPHERE instrument shows the protoplanetary disk around AB Aurigae. Image credit: ESO / Boccaletti et al.

Astronomers Witness Ongoing Planet Formation in AB Aurigae System

May 21, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have observed a protoplanetary...

This image shows protoplanets PDS 70b and PDS 70c (labeled with white arrows) with the circumstellar disk removed. Image credit: J. Wang, Caltech.

Astronomers Capture New Images of Two Protoplanets around PDS 70

May 19, 2020 by News Staff

Using the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRC2) on the Keck II telescope at W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaii, astronomers have directly imaged two infant...

As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft takes off for its next destination, this mosaic synthesizes some of the best views the spacecraft had of the giant asteroid Vesta. Dawn studied Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012. The towering mountain at the south pole -- more than twice the height of Mount Everest -- is visible at the bottom of the image. The set of three craters known as the ‘snowman’ can be seen at the top left. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Asteroid Vesta Has Turbulent Past

Mar 5, 2020 by News Staff

A new study by Curtin University researchers has shed light on the early days of Vesta, the second largest asteroid of the main belt and the fourth such...

An artist’s impression of gas flowing like a waterfall into a protoplanetary disk gap, which is most likely caused by an infant planet. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF / S. Dagnello.

ALMA Finds Gas Waterfalls in Planet-Forming Disk around HD 163296

Oct 18, 2019 by News Staff

At three locations in the protoplanetary disk around HD 163296, a young star located approximately 400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius,...

An artist’s impression of ‘Oumuamua. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

We Can Expect Few Large Interstellar Objects Showing Up Every Year, Astronomers Say

Oct 1, 2019 by News Staff

Yale University astronomers Gregory Laughlin and Malena Rice propose that interstellar objects such as the interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua and the interstellar...

An artist’s impression of a collision between the proto-Jupiter and a massive protoplanet in the early Solar System. Image credit: K. Suda & Y. Akimoto, Mabuchi Design Office / Astrobiology Center, Japan.

Massive Planetary Embryo Crashed into Jupiter 4.5 Billion Years Ago

Aug 15, 2019 by News Staff

An energetic head-on collision between a large planetary embryo and the proto-Jupiter about 4.5 billion years ago could explain puzzling gravitational...

This artist’s illustration shows two gas giant exoplanets orbiting the young star PDS 70. Image credit: J. Olmsted, STScI.

Astronomers Directly Image Two Protoplanets around PDS 70

Jun 4, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) spectrograph on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have directly imaged two still-forming gas...

Global map of the albedo from the 750 nm filter of the UV-VIS camera onboard NASA’s Clementine spacecraft. The image shows the near side and far side of the Moon in Lambert, equal-area projection. Image credit: NASA.

Moon’s Nearside-Farside Asymmetries are Result of Ancient Giant Impact, Says New Study

May 23, 2019 by News Staff

The Moon has striking asymmetries between its nearside and farside in topography, crustal thickness, and composition. A new study, published in the Journal...

As a metallic asteroid such as Psyche cooled and solidified, iron volcanoes may have erupted onto its surface. Image credit: Elena Hartley.

Ferrovolcanism: Liquid Iron-Spewing Volcanoes Erupted on Metallic Asteroids, Scientists Say

Apr 9, 2019 by News Staff

Metallic asteroids are the cooled cores of disrupted planetesimals. They originated early in the history of our Solar System when planets were beginning...

Greenwood et al discovered that water was present on Earth at an early stage in its evolution and survived the giant impact, which formed the Moon. This is an artist’s depiction of a catastrophic collision between two celestial bodies; such an impact between the proto-Earth and Theia likely formed the Moon. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Earth’s Essential Elements for Life Probably Came from Another Planet

Jan 24, 2019 by News Staff

Planetary researchers believe that our Moon was created more than 4.4 billion years ago in a catastrophic collision between proto-Earth and a hypothetical...

Artist’s illustration depicting the destruction of a young planet. Image credit: NASA / CXC / M.Weiss.

Young Star Caught Snacking on Planetary Debris

Jul 19, 2018 by News Staff

For decades, astronomers have puzzled over the variability of young stars residing in Taurus-Auriga dark clouds, a group of molecular clouds located in...

Massive Protoplanet Hit Young Uranus, Caused It To Tilt, Study Says

Jul 3, 2018 by News Staff

According to a Durham University-led study, young Uranus was hit by a protoplanet about twice the size of Earth that caused the ice giant to tilt and could...

An artist’s impression of protoplanets forming around a young star. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF / S. Dagnello.

ALMA Spots Three Giant Protoplanets around HD 163296

Jun 14, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have uncovered evidence that three infant planets are forming in the protoplanetary...

The Almahata Sitta meteorite. Image credit: Peter Jenniskens.

Diamond-Bearing ‘Almahata Sitta’ Meteorites Came from Long-Lost Protoplanet

Apr 19, 2018 by News Staff

The Almahata Sitta meteorites — diamond-bearing space rock fragments that rained down on the Nubian Desert in Sudan in 2008 — are remnants...

Earth’s Water was Present before Moon-Forming Impact, Research Shows

Mar 30, 2018 by News Staff

The high-energy impact about 100 million years after our Solar System formed, resulted in the two colliding planetary objects completely merging to create...

Artist’s impression of an infant star still surrounded by a protoplanetary disk in which planets are forming. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

Giant Exoplanet Creates Gaps in Protoplanetary Disk around Young Star AS 209

Mar 6, 2018 by Natali Anderson

Nestled in the Ophiuchus star-forming region, approximately 410 light-years from the Sun, a fascinating protoplanetary disk around the young star AS 209...

1 234