Artist’s impression of grains in the disc around a brown dwarf

Rocky planets are thought to form through the random collision and sticking together of what are initially microscopic particles in the disc of material around a star. These tiny grains, known as cosmic dust, are similar to very fine soot or sand. Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have for the first time found that the outer region of a dusty disc encircling a brown dwarf — a star-like object, but one too small to shine brightly like a star — also contains millimetre-sized solid grains like those found in denser discs around newborn stars. The surprising finding challenges theories of how rocky, Earth-scale planets form, and suggests that rocky planets may be even more common in the Universe than expected.

This artist’s impression shows these grains of cosmic dust in the disc around the brown dwarf.

Źródło:

ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/L. Calçada (ESO)

O zdjęciu

Identyfikator:eso1248b
Typ:Wizja artysty
Data publikacji:30 listopada 2012 12:00
Powiązane komunikaty:eso1248
Rozmiar:4000 x 2500 px

O obiekcie

Nazwa:ISO-Oph 102
Typ:Milky Way : Star : Type : Brown Dwarf
Kategoria:Stars

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