disk

Not One, Not Two, But Three Planetary Systems Are Forming Around This Binary Star

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Astronomers have spied three whole systems of exoplanets being born around one binary star. SVS 13 is a binary star system 980 light-years away, and the complex structures of dust around it are shedding light on how planetary systems are born in these fascinating environments. Since a large proportion of stars is bound up in … Read more

This Could Be The Most Accurate Flat World Map Ever Made

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Admit it. We all have our favorite world map, where the place we call home sits right at the center. When that world map is flipped upside down or shifted to the left or right, everything feels… unbalanced.   More than just a classroom squabble, it’s a reflection of how maps can shape how we … Read more

Astronomers Identify The Largest Molecule Ever Found in a Planet-Forming Disk

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The largest molecule yet found in a roiling disk of dust and gas around a baby star has been identified, scientists report. In this swirling cloud, astronomers detected the signature of dimethyl ether, a molecule that contains nine atoms. This oxygen-bearing molecule can act as a building block for sugars and other biomolecules, which means … Read more

For The First Time, a Tatooine-Like Planet Has Been Detected Via a Wobbling Star

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Not all planetary systems are alike. Out there in the big, wide galaxy, a number of different configurations have been spotted, some vastly different from our home system. These include extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that orbit not one, but two stars, like the fictional Star Wars world of Tatooine.   Now, for the first time, astronomers … Read more

Even Dying Stars Could Give Birth to Brand New Planets, Says Study

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When young stars coalesce out of a cloud of molecular hydrogen, a disk of leftover material called a protoplanetary disk surrounds them. This disk is where planets form, and astronomers are getting better at peering into those veiled environments and watching embryonic worlds take shape. But young stars aren’t the only stars with disks of … Read more

Astronomers Keep Finding Stars That Should Be Dead. Now, We May Finally Know Why

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The most massive stars in the Universe are also the shortest-lived. The more mass a star has, the more quickly it burns through its fuel reserves, resulting in lifespans that are less than around 10 million years.   This fascinating fact leads us to a puzzle. Most of these stars are found relatively close to … Read more

Colossal ‘Fossil’ Structures Have Been Detected Lurking on The Outskirts of Our Galaxy

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From Earth’s vantage point in one of the Milky Way’s spiral arms, the structure of our galaxy is pretty difficult to reconstruct. That’s because gauging the distance to something in space when you don’t know its intrinsic brightness is really, really hard. And there are a lot of objects in the Milky Way whose brightness … Read more

Astronomers Spot a Ghostly ‘One-Winged Butterfly’ Blazing Through Space

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The beautiful birth of a star has produced an exquisitely ethereal structure in interstellar space. It’s called the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula, located about 520 light-years away, and in a new image from the NSF NOIRLab’s International Gemini Observatory in Chile, it appears in the sky like a pale gossamer butterfly wing.   At its core, … Read more