CANADA: In a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, a team of astronomers and astrophysicists said that they are witnessing the birth of two or possibly three protoplanets. They have discovered two or three small planets orbiting around a young sun-like star at a distance of about 430 light-years away from Earth. The findings could help scientists gain insight into planet formation and how they appear in their formative years.
Till now, about 1,900 planets have been found orbiting small starts in the outer space and the mature planets have been discovered only when they pass in front of the stars they orbit causing the light to dim. The team of astronomers used their powerful telescope in Arizona towards the young star, LkCa 15, and the relatively empty space around them, the disk cavity, to gain clear insight about their formation. Astronomers have taken the first images of the planet still in formation around a star LkCa 15, which is 2 million year old.
For the first time, scientists have also found the chemical footprints of superheated hydrogen gas streaming from the dust disk onto the planet. Stephanie Sallum, a University of Arizona astronomy graduate student, said “This young system provides the first opportunity to study planet formation and disk-planet interactions directly”. Zhaohuan Zhu, Princeton University astrophysicist, said that the new study will help scientists modify their previous theories on planet formation.
