Planet-disk interaction numerical simulation. The planet excites spiral waves in the disk and later opens gaps. The leftmost panel is the gas distribution in the simulation. The middle two panels show ...

This is a still from a simulation of a forming planetary disk, made by University of Warwick and Stephen Hawking Research Fellow Rebecca Nealon. The images show the rotating inner disk along the top ...

Across the Milky Way and beyond, planetary systems appear to fall into a few recurring blueprints, and recent exoplanet surveys suggest that just four layouts may dominate the universe. Drawing on ...

Still from a simulation of a forming planetary disk. The images show the rotating inner disk along the top half, and the shadow it casts on the outer disk in the lower half. CREDIT Rebecca Nealon / ...

Astronomers have unveiled the largest planet-forming disk ever observed around a young star, a sprawling structure where gas and dust are actively assembling new worlds. The discovery pushes the ...

ALMA, located in the Chilean Atacama desert, is the most powerful telescope for observing the cool Universe — molecular gas and dust. ALMA studies the building blocks of stars, planetary systems, ...

A young, massive planet is orbiting in an unusual place in its star system, and it’s leading researchers to revive a long-debated view of how giant planets can form. “My first reaction was, there’s no ...

The disk contains enough mass to potentially assemble a multitude of Jupiter-sized planets. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The ...