Spitzer sees protoplanetary disk around dead star
Posted: Thu, Apr 6, 2006, 8:31 AM ET (1231 GMT)
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected potential evidence of planets forming around a supernova remnant, which may indicate that planet formation processes are "universal". In a paper published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, astronomers reported the discovery of a dust disk around the pulsar 4U 0142+61. The pulsar was formed by a supernova explosion of a star 10-20 times the mass of the Sun. While that explosion destroyed any planets that once orbited it, debris from the explosion appears to have fallen back into a disk that has formed around the star. While Spitzer did not directly detect any planets forming in the disk, planets have been previously discovered around other pulsars, most likely forming after the supernovae that created the pulsars.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected potential evidence of planets forming around a supernova remnant, which may indicate that planet formation processes are "universal". In a paper published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, astronomers reported the discovery of a dust disk around the pulsar 4U 0142+61. The pulsar was formed by a supernova explosion of a star 10-20 times the mass of the Sun. While that explosion destroyed any planets that once orbited it, debris from the explosion appears to have fallen back into a disk that has formed around the star. While Spitzer did not directly detect any planets forming in the disk, planets have been previously discovered around other pulsars, most likely forming after the supernovae that created the pulsars.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, March 27
A leap forward for Lumio: Phase C officially launched
ESA — 6:09 am ET (1009 GMT) Cantor Fitzgerald cuts Firefly Aerospace stock price target on estimates
Investing.com — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) SpaceX President: Starlink Could Plateau at 15,000 or 20,000 Satellites
PC Magazine — 6:07 am ET (1007 GMT) Data Centers on Orbit Could Boost Space Operations, Experts Say
National Defense Magazine — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) National Defense Strategy ‘falls short’ on nuclear, space threat: SASC chair
Defense One — 6:05 am ET (1005 GMT) |
