Protoplanetary disks as a research area encompass the observational, theoretical, and computational study of gas- and dust-rich disks surrounding young stellar objects, which serve as the birthplaces of planets. This field investigates disk structure, composition, thermochemistry, angular momentum transport, and disk evolution through processes such as accretion, turbulence, magnetohydrodynamic effects, dust growth, and planet–disk interactions. Research integrates multiwavelength observations (e.g., ALMA, infrared spectroscopy) with radiative transfer, hydrodynamical, and chemical modeling to constrain disk lifetimes, mass budgets, and conditions for planet formation, as well as to link disk properties to emerging planetary system architectures and demographics.
The young planetary system of the 23-million-year-old star Beta Pictoris (short: Beta Pic) is regarded as an iconic circumstellar dust disk, which hosts at least three giant gas planets. Discovered in 2008 by direct imaging, ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 9, 2026
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36
Astronomers have uncovered a pair of giant planets that are lighter than cotton candy—super-puffs the size of Jupiter.
Astronomy
Jul 5, 2026
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98
Exoplanet atmospheres have become prime targets for astrobiologists in the search for life beyond Earth. This is because exoplanet surfaces can't be directly imaged yet, so astronomers must get creative in how they search ...
Space Exploration
Jul 1, 2026
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16
It feels like every few months we get to report on another academic paper singing the praises of the Solar Gravitational Lens (SGL). Partly, this is due to Dr. Slava Turyshev's astounding productivity in pumping out academic ...
Astronomy
Jun 28, 2026
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72
An international collaboration has discovered two of the lowest-density giant planets ever detected: rare "super-puff" planets with densities lower than candy floss. The study—led by the University of Oxford, in collaboration ...
Astronomy
Jun 24, 2026
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122
Have you ever been out at night and seen a streak of light blast across the sky and disappear? Ever wonder where that shooting star came from, or how it got to be in your sky?
Astronomy
Jun 16, 2026
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23
Italian astronomers have used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to perform polarimetric observations of the star WRAY 15-1880 and its young circumstellar disk. Results of the new observations, presented June 10 on the arXiv ...
The rotation of a protoplanetary disk (a disk where planets are being formed) has been observed directly for the very first time by mapping the emissions from the dust grains within it. The disk in question surrounds the ...
Astronomy
Jun 1, 2026
8
327
It's 2234, you're on your annual class field trip touring exoplanets, and your teacher informs everyone they can pick one more exoplanetary system to explore before heading back to Earth. You and your classmates are exhausted ...
Astronomy
Jun 1, 2026
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21
A team of astronomers, led by University of Warwick in collaboration with researchers at MIT and McMaster, have developed a novel method to use the properties of dust rings around stars to estimate the masses of newborn planets. ...
Astronomy
May 28, 2026
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23
