Astronomers find possible exoplanet-in-the-making within its own whirlpool – EarthSky

View of the young star HD 163296, with the newly-discovered vortex or “whirlpool” of dust and pebbles circling around it. The researchers think a new planet is forming in the brightest region, where pebbles are being ground to form warmer dust. Image via J. Varga et al./ Astronomie.nl.
Planets are born in massive swirling disks of gas and dust around newly formed stars. Astronomers have observed many of these protoplanetary disks, and often they can see concentric gaps in the disks, like grooves…

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