ALMA measures size of seeds of planets

Researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), have for the first time, achieved a precise size measurement of small dust particles around a young star through radio-wave polarization. ALMA's high ...

The dust and gas in protoplanetary disks

Planets form as the dust grains in a protoplanetary disk grow into pebbles and then finally into planets. Because small dust grains interact with gas (via the drag it imparts), the gas in protoplanetary disks influences the ...

Twin Keck telescopes probe dual dust disks

Astronomers using the twin 10-meter telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii have explored one of the most compact dust disks ever resolved around another star. If placed in our own solar system, the disk would ...

Making simulated cosmic dust—in the microwave

Cosmic dust is the key to the chemical evolution of stars, planets, and life itself, but its composition is not well understood, and we can't currently collect samples for analysis. A few examples have arrived on Earth as ...

JWST searches for planets in the Fomalhaut system

The Fomalhaut system is nearby in astronomical terms, and it's also one of the brightest stars in the night sky. That means astronomers have studied it intensely over the years. Now that we have the powerful James Webb Space ...

Planet formation may start earlier than previously thought

On their long journey to form planets, dust grains may coalesce with each other much earlier than previously thought, simulations by RIKEN astrophysicists suggest1. This may mean revisiting conventional theories of planet ...

Dusty protoplanetary disks

Planetary systems form out of disks of gas and dust around young stars. How the formation proceeds, however, is complex and poorly understood. Many physical processes are involved including accretion onto the star, photoevaporation ...

Stellar 'ashfall' could help distant planets grow

The world's first 3D simulation simultaneously considering dust motion and growth in a disk around a young star has shown that large dust from the central region can be entrained by and then ejected by gas outflows, and eventually ...

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