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Astronomers see first evidence of a new planet being born – Physics World - physicsworld.com
May 23, 2020 49 secs

A distinctive twist in the disk of gas and dust surrounding a newly formed star likely indicates that a new planet is currently forming in the system.

In 2017, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope, operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), observed two of these spiral arms within a large gap of the inner disk surrounding newly formed star AB Aurigae.

In their study, Boccaletti and colleagues combined these measurements with the latest observations of AB Aurigae made by the SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), also operated by the ESO.

Tentatively from their observations, they estimate that the planet is between four and 13 times the mass of Jupiter, and orbits at a similar distance to its host star as Neptune does to the Sun.

Drawing on the work made possible with ALMA and SPHERE, the instrument will also enable astronomers to study other newly formed systems, potentially enabling them to draw crucial new insights into the dynamics of planet formation.

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