Chile - Spotting comet factory
June 9, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
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A "dust trap" surrounding a young star could help explain how planets are formed, according to astronomers with Chile's ALMA space observatory.
The findings released Thursday provide insight into how dust particles in the disk around a young star grow in size so that, over time, they form comets and planets.
"It's likely that we are looking at a kind of comet factory," said Nienke van der Marel, a doctoral student at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who led the team of researchers.
Van der Marel and co-workers made their discovery when they used the ALMA observatory to study the disc in a system called Oph-IRS 48.
The findings released Thursday provide insight into how dust particles in the disk around a young star grow in size so that, over time, they form comets and planets.
"It's likely that we are looking at a kind of comet factory," said Nienke van der Marel, a doctoral student at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who led the team of researchers.
Van der Marel and co-workers made their discovery when they used the ALMA observatory to study the disc in a system called Oph-IRS 48.
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