Stunning image reveals 1st detection of gas giants being born around a young star
“This discovery is truly captivating as it marks the very first detection of clumps around a young star that have the potential to give rise to giant planets.”
The phoenix-like appearance of debris and dust that represent a gas giant planet potentially forming around a young star. (Image credit: ESO/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/Weber et al.)
Astronomers have caught a glimpse of a stunning cosmic “phoenix” that represents a planetary system in the making.
Just like the mythological phoenix represents rebirth from fiery destruction, this cloud resembling a flaming cosmic bird may signify the birth of a gas giant planet from clumps of material gathered around a star that was recently born from the ashes of an earlier long-dead star. The study of dusty clumps around the star designated V960 Mon and located around 5,000 light-years away and the constellation of Monoceros could reveal how gas giant planets like Jupiter are born.
“This discovery is truly captivating as it marks the very first detection of clumps around a young star that have the potential to give rise to giant planets,” Universidad Diego Portales, Chile, Alice Zurlo, part of the team behind the observations, said in a statement.
