Tag Archives: ALMA

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How to find newborn planets without seeing them

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Astronomers Use The Doppler Effect To Find Three Newborn Planets

For Forbes:

We can’t witness the birth of our own Solar System, but the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is providing a picture of how it may have happened. ALMA spotted signs of three giant planets forming around a young star in our cosmic neighborhood. The technique astronomers used to study these planets is one that can be used to find other newborn worlds, and see exactly how clouds of gas and dust turn into something like the Solar System.

The star, which astronomers gave the memorable name HD 163296, is only about 4 million years old, which in cosmic terms makes it a baby. Researchers used ALMA to take detailed images of the disk of dust and gas surrounding the star, which showed three gaps. By studying the motion of carbon monoxide gas within the disk, the astronomers showed it was being moved by massive objects living in those gaps — a telltale sign of newborn planets. These findings were published in a pair of articles in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

[Read the rest at Forbes…]

Aside by

The ALMA telescopes found a spiral pattern surrounding the dying star R Sculpturis.

Though it may seem sad on the surface, the death of a star is a beautiful thing—and an important precursor to the birth of new stars and planets. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile has provided a breathtaking view of a star nearing the end of its life. One unexpected feature was a lovely spiral pattern that probably indicates the presence of a hidden companion.

While earlier observations showed a thin spherical shell of gas perfectly centered on R Sculptoris, the ALMA data revealed unexpected structure inside. The details included clumps in the gas shell and a winding spiral pattern, as seen in the image above. Additionally, the amount of mass contained in the surrounding matter is approximately three times what was estimated from earlier observations and models of similar stars. [Read more….]

The beautiful spiral of a dying star