Scientists are developing new methods for observing the formation of planets. As a result of this development, the training planets are observed.
One of the topics that astronomers are interested in is the formation of planets. Unraveling this process is believed to help understand it better. One of the structures the study focuses on is the developing baby planet.
Thanks to a new method developed by scientists, small planets hidden in the protoplanetary disk can be revealed. As this type of research is used in recent research, the opportunity arises to witness the birth of a planet.
At first everything was really a cloud of gas and dust.
As if to prove the truth of the phrase “Everything is a cloud of gas and dust”, which we have heard very often before, scientists are trying to discover the little planet by examining condensed clouds of gas and dust orbiting in a certain orbit. This formation structure is called the protoplanetary disk. Thanks to a new method developed by astronomers at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a small planet has been revealed that is thought to be about the same size as Saturn or Neptune in the Solar System. The findings were also published Sept. 14 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
After this discovery, researcher Feng Long and his team, who began researching the disk called LkCa 15 which is 518 light years away, began their work by collecting data obtained on the disk from 2019. In subsequent studies , changes in this gas and dust clouds have been observed. The mass of matter and the structure of the spring move at an angle of 120 degrees to each other.
It could have been born 1 to 3 million years ago!
Scientists have revealed that such angles do not occur spontaneously and that the material that makes up the disk also has certain cycles in the gravitational field created by its stars and planets. Mathematical modeling studies also revealed that there must be a 60 degree angle between the pooled material and the resulting arc. This measure is currently the size of Saturn or Neptune. Its age is estimated to be between 1-3 million years. So, if we think about it on a cosmic scale, we can even call it a nascent planet.
It is unlikely to get an image of a newly formed planet anytime soon due to technological limitations, but it seems likely that such a method will allow observing new planets in the future. Researchers also hope so.
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