There are too few telescopes on Earth to satisfy the requirements of all the astronomers , which is why telescope observation clip is a treasured resource . So you could imagine that something exciting was go on when a group of astronomers made a request for theVery Large Telescope(VLT ) to be pointed at one pip in the sky for an entire Nox .
The astronomical phenomenon that these astronomers hop to see would be the first of its kind to ever be hear : the nascency of a new satellite , just355 light - yearsaway . First take note in 2013 , this planet , call HD 100546 , is a gas heavyweight with similarities to Jupiter , our solar organization ’s gas giant .
This new major planet orbits a young star that is surrounded by an larger-than-life magnetic disk of gas and dust ( call a circumstellar disk ) . The planet is nestled within this dusty platter . The formation of such a planet begin when a dense area of gas draws itself more tightly together with the power of the gaseous state particles ' gravitation . Eventually , the tidy sum of swirling throttle draws enough material towards itself that the matter coalesces into a accelerator satellite .
Initial observationsof this Modern major planet suggest that its r is seven clock time turgid than Jupiter ’s . The observance also predict its temperature to be over 600oC ( 1112oF ) .
However , there could be another account for what scientist are view : The planet may instead be an older gas planet that was organize further towards the center of the disc . In this situation , the only reason we ’re seeing it now is because it ’s been hurled outwards . " It ’s a scenario we still ca n’t rule out completely , " first authorSascha QuanzofETH Zurichnoted . " But it ’s much less potential than our account , which suggests that what we ’re seeing is the birth of a major planet . "
Determining which scenario is the correct one is what made the data gathered by the telescope so valuable . If this planet is an old one that ’s been flung out of its circumstellar disc , then it would require to be watch a exact flight to emerge from the disc somewhere that uranologist can see it now . The chance of this happening is smaller than that of the major planet just being have in this location .
The data were also worthful for confirming that the signal was in reality coming from just outside the circumstellar disk and not from a background source . This was a vexation in the past , but the new data have given scientists enough confidence to say that the rootage of the signal is indeed from the disc and not elsewhere .
The study , bring out in the Astrophysical Journal , concluded : " The best explanation for the observed phenomenon is that a new satellite is actually in the physical process of formation , embedded in the disc wall its parent maven . "
The finding is exciting as stargazer opine that there is another planet located nearer to this key star . It would be singular to sustain the existence of this 2d planet in the future .
The Birth of a Giant Planet ? - campaigner protoplanet spot inside its stellar womb . ESO .
