Anew NASA study has suggested that gigantic spiral patterns seenaround very young stars may be a telltale sign of gigantic, unseenplanets in their orbit. If proved accurate, the theory would allowfor a new method of planet detection, while providing an invaluablelook at planet birth.
Astronomershave identified thousands of planets orbiting distant stars, butgetting a look at the earliest stages of their formation is tricky,due to the thick disk of gas and dust that surrounds them as they form.
Thenew research proposes that we can identify planets in the diskaround young parent stars by looking for gravitationaldisturbances in the vast swathes of material. Specifically, it'sthought that the presence of giant planets may cause large-scalespiral arms around young stars, themselves generally just a fewmillion years old.
Lookingat two young stars (designated SAO 206462 and MWC 758), the teamdeveloped computer simulations of the stars and disks, modelling theeffect that young giant planets would have if present.
In thesimulation, the planets cause higher density regions of gas and dustthat build up, and as the disk rotates around the star, form hugespiral arms. Those structures closely resemble features found inobservations made by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT).
Thesimulations also indicate that the spiral arms could provide a wealthof information about the presumed planets, including their mass. Theyalso suggest that the planets theorized to be orbiting SAO 206462 andMWC 758 would have to be truly huge – a minimum of 10 times themass of Jupiter.
Theidea could have ground-breaking implications, but we'll have to wait until next generation installationslike the James Webb Space Telescope before we can observe thepredicted planets, and confirm (or disprove) the theory. If it's proved correct, it could significantly improve our understanding of the universe.
"Thereare many theories about how planets form but very little work basedon direct observational evidence confirming these theories," says researcher Ruobing Dong. "If you see signs of a planet in a diskright now, it tells you when, where, and how planets form."
Thefindings of the research were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Source:NASA
