planet forming disk – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

The water in your bottle might be older than the sun

By Guest PostOctober 23, 2014Scienceabsolute zero, alexander peltzer, astronomers, billion years, dresdner frauenkirche, erbgut, Galaxy, genom, george baehr, heavy water, kay nieselt, planet forming disk, ratio, solar system, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR — Up to half of the water on Earth is likely older than the solar system itself, University of Michigan astronomers theorize.

The researchers’ work, published in the current issue of Science, helps to settle a debate about just how far back in galactic history our planet and our solar system’s water formed. Were the molecules in comet ices and terrestrial oceans born with the system itself—in the planet-forming disk of dust and gas that circled the young sun 4.6 billion years ago? Or did the water originate even earlier—in the cold, ancient molecular cloud that spawned the sun and that planet-forming disk? (more…)

How Planets Form: Astronomers Weigh a Protoplanetary Disk with Unprecedented Accuracy

By Guest PostFebruary 5, 2013Scienceabundant element, accuracy, amount of hydrogen, astronomers, constellation hydra, discrepancy, dust and gas, dust grains, edwin bergin, european space agency, extra neutron, five solar systems, fraction, gaseous hydrogen, goran pilbratt, herschel space observatory, how planets form, human hair, ilsedore cleeves, jupiter, like earth, Nature, nucleus, orbiting radio telescope, origin of planets, planet building process, planet forming disk, planetary birth, protoplanetary disk, solar systems, starlight, sun, terrestrial worlds, total gas mass, tw hydra, universe, university of michigan, water and carbon, weighing a disc, young star

ANN ARBOR — In a study that gives astronomers new insights into how planets form, research led by the University of Michigan has enabled a dramatically more precise measurement of the amount of dust and gas in the planet-forming disk around a young star.

The findings speak, in a way, to a fundamental question: “Why are we here?” (more…)

Gaseous Ring Around Young Star Raises Questions

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2012Scienceastronomers, carbon monoxide, centaurus, charles cowley, co ring, diversity, european southern observatory, gas, Germany, light years, magnetic fields, magnetic herbig ae, moon, mysterious ring, nicole casal moore, planet forming disk, planetary rings, planetary systems, saturn, shepherding planets, solar system, southern constellation, star hd 101412, swetlana hubrig, v1052 cen, very large telescope, young star

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Astronomers have detected a mysterious ring of carbon monoxide gas around the young star V1052 Cen, which is about 700 light years away in the southern constellation Centaurus.

The ring is part of the star’s planet-forming disk, and it’s as far from V1052 Cen as Earth is from the sun. Discovered with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, its edges are uniquely crisp. (more…)

Tag Archives: planet forming disk

The water in your bottle might be older than the sun

How Planets Form: Astronomers Weigh a Protoplanetary Disk with Unprecedented Accuracy

Gaseous Ring Around Young Star Raises Questions