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Feb 11

ESO makes probable first planet formation detection

Source: ESO Science Release eso1106 - Planet Formation in Action? — Astronomers may have found the first object clearing its path in the natal disc surrounding a young star


Artist’s impression of the disc around the young star T Cha.
Image credit: ESO/L.Calçada.

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope an international team of astronomers has been able to study the short-lived disc of material around a young star that is in the early stages of making a planetary system. For the first time a smaller companion could be detected that may be the cause of the large gap found in the disc. Future observations will determine whether this companion is a planet or a brown dwarf.(read more)

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