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
|
|
Roscosmos replaces cosmonaut on next Crew Dragon mission to ISS
Posted: Sat, Dec 6 9:45 AM ET (1445 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, December 14
Unseenlabs and S&P Global Collaborate for Maritime Surveillance from Space
Unseenlabs — 10:38 am ET (1538 GMT) New research group to explore the evolution of the Magellanic Clouds
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics — 10:32 am ET (1532 GMT) SpacePNT starts manufacturing the ultra-precise GNSS receiver for GENESIS mission
SpacePNT — 10:31 am ET (1531 GMT) UAH student researcher leads discovery of fastest gamma-ray burst ever recorded
Univ. of Alabama Huntsville — 10:30 am ET (1530 GMT) Gemini and Blanco Telescopes Unlock Clues to Origin of Longest Gamma-ray Burst Ever Observed
National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory — 10:29 am ET (1529 GMT) |
