A ‘groundbreaking’ new survey has revealed the secrets of how planets are created around dozens of stars.
A team of astronomers has shed new light on the complex process of planet formation, releasing a series of incredible pictures that show the star systems ‘giving birth’ to planets.
Captured using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile, the pictures represent one of the largest ever surveys of planet-forming ‘discs’.
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To put it simply, a ‘disc’ of materials forms around a very young star where, inside it, dust becomes pebbled, and the pebbles eventually accumulate into a planet.
But, recent insights have shown even more about how the detailed process works.
Astronomers used the VLT and were able to picture 86 planet-forming systems in the nearby star-forming nebulae – making it one of the largest-ever surveys of planet formation.
Christian Ginski – a lecturer at the University of Galway, Ireland, and lead author of one of three new papers published on the topic – said it has made a huge change to how we will see stars.
He said: “This is really a shift in our field of study.
“We’ve gone from the intense study of individual star systems to this huge overview of entire star-forming regions.
“Some of the images show discs with huge spiral arms, presumably driven by the intricate ballet of orbiting planets.
“Others show rings and large cavities carved out by forming planets, while yet others seem smooth and almost dormant among all this bustle of activity.”
In one image, stars can be seen scattered around the photo, with different formations gathering around them.
In another shot, a star can be seen creating a planet, with a yellow and blue disk surrounding the ball of fire.
In a third picture, discs can be seen forming planets in three clouds of the Milky Way, all with incredible shapes, different sizes and bright colours.
Ginski added: “It is almost poetic that the processes that mark the start of the journey towards forming planets and ultimately life in our own solar system should be so beautiful.”
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