What can a newborn planet teach astronomers about planetary formation and evolution? This is what a recent study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated a young planet within the protoplanetary disc of its star. This study has the potential to provide astronomers with a unique opportunity to observe a planet that is still forming, thus gaining greater understanding of planetary formation and evolution.
For the study, the researchers used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) to observe a still-forming planet orbiting HD 135344B, which is part of a binary star system located approximately 440 light-years from Earth. This young planet was discovered by observing it carving out a gap within the protoplanetary disc, which is comprised of gas and dust that clumps together to form new planets.
Until now, astronomers have only observed protoplanetary discs with gaps but not planets that are responsible for making those gaps. This still-forming planet is estimated to be approximately twice the mass of Jupiter while orbiting approximately 28 astronomical units (AU) from its star. For context, Neptune orbits just over 30 AU from our Sun.
Image of the still-forming planet captured by the ESO VLT (right) and an image from a past study that did not reveal the still-forming planet. (Credit: ESO/F. Maio et al./T. Stolker et al./ ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/N. van der Marel et al.)
“What makes this detection potentially a turning point is that, unlike many previous observations, we are able to directly detect the signal of the protoplanet, which is still highly embedded in the disc,” said Francesco Maio, who is who is a PhD student at the University of Florence and lead author of the study. “This gives us a much higher level of confidence in the planet’s existence, as we’re observing the planet’s own light.”
How will this young planet orbiting HD 135344B help astronomers better understand planetary formation and evolution in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Astronomy & Astrophysics, EurekAlert!