posted on Jan, 3 2013 @ 02:11 AM
hi all
sry if this has been posted I did a search and couldnt find it
Astronomers studying a newborn star have caught a detailed glimpse of planets forming around it, revealing a never-before seen stage of planetary
evolution.
Large gas giant planets appear to be clearing a gap in the disk of material surrounding the star, and using gravity to channel material across the gap
to the interior, helping the star to grow. Theoretical simulations have predicted such bridges between outer and inner portions of disks surrounding
stars, but none have been directly observed until now.
An international team of astronomers have used the partially completed Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study a young star about
450 light-years from Earth. They identified two thin filaments of gas streaming from the outer disk to the inner, across a broad gap cut by young
planets.
"Currently, the only mechanism known to produce such gap-crossing dense molecular flows, with residual carbon monoxide gas more diffusely spread out
inside the gap, is planetary formation," lead scientist Simon Casassus of the University of Chile told SPACE.com in an email. [Video: Baby Planets
Form Bridge Around Star]
I was surprised this hasnt been posted.. there are some good pics at the link sry couldnt get them to post
news.yahoo.com...edit on 3-1-2013 by goou111 because: (no reason given)