WASHINGTON: Astronomers have captured first-ever snapshots of extrasolar planets ‘in formation’ in a what is being celebrated as a momentous discovery that could shed light on the early life of giant planets orbiting distant stars. Astronomers from the University of Arizona used state-of-the-art telescopes to glance at young planets orbiting a faraway star-system, hovering in the blackness of space approximately 450 light-years away from Earth. The star dubbed as LkCa 15, dwells in the heart of the northern hemisphere winter-sky constellation Taurus.
The distant star is very much akin to the sun, but almost half as old as our own star. Unlike the sun, LkCa 15 still remains shrouded in a thick blanket of gas and dust, the integral building blocks for planetary evolution. According to reports, the orbiting planets have been captured during the prime of their formation, caught in the act while consuming a ‘stream of hydrogen gas’ from the dust encircling the star, generating colossal energy and exhibiting piercing brightness. The discovery also demonstrates how new techniques to spot extra-solar planets springing into existence can be aided by observing a striking pattern of revelatory hydrogen gas emissions.
According to independent researcher Zhaohuan Zhu of Princeton University, the discovery adds a new dimension to scientific inquiry and challenges some of the erstwhile ideas and suppositions regarding planetary evolution.
