Small aromatic molecules, including functionalized derivatives of benzene, are known to be present throughout the different stages of star and planet formation. In particular, oxygen-bearing monosubstituted aromatics, likely including phenol, […]
Planetesimal
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fomalhaut, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Second Planetesimal Collision In The Fomalhaut System
The nearby star Fomalhaut is orbited by a compact source, Fomalhaut b, which has previously been interpreted as either a dust-enshrouded exoplanet or a dust cloud generated by the collision […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fomalhaut, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Hubble Sees Asteroids Colliding at Nearby Star for First Time
Like a game of cosmic bumper cars, scientists think the early days of our solar system were a time of violent turmoil, with planetesimals, asteroids, and comets smashing together and […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
SPHERE’s Debris Disk Gallery: Tell-tale Signs Of Dust And Small Bodies In Distant Solar Systems
Observations with the instrument SPHERE at ESO’s Very Large Telescope have produced an unprecedented gallery of “debris disks” in exoplanetary systems. Gaël Chauvin (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy), project scientist […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Discovery Of An Icy And Nitrogen-rich Extrasolar Planetesimal
White dwarfs accreting planetary debris provide detailed insight into the bulk composition of rocky exo-planetesimals. However, only one Kuiper-Belt analogue has been identified in that way so far.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Cosmic Cascades: How Disk Substructure Regulates The Flow Of Water To Inner Planetary Systems
The influx of icy pebbles to the inner regions of protoplanetary disks constitutes a fundamental ingredient in most planet formation theories.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Building Earth With Pebbles Made Of Chondritic Components
Pebble accretion provides new insights into Earth’s building blocks and early protoplanetary disk conditions.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Impact events, Status Report
Terrestrial Planet Formation From Two Source Reservoirs
This work describes new dynamical simulations of terrestrial planet formation. The simulations started at the protoplanetary disk stage, when planetesimals formed and accreted into protoplanets, and continued past the late […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Impact events, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Status Report, Venus
Dynamical Origin Of Theia, The Last Giant Impactor On Earth
Cosmochemical studies have proposed that Earth accreted roughly 5-10% of its mass from carbonaceous (CC) material, with a large fraction delivered late via its final impactor, Theia (the Moon-forming impactor). […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Planet Formation In Chemically Diverse And Evolving Discs — I. Composition Of Planetary Building Blocks
Protoplanetary discs are dynamic environments where the interplay between chemical processes and mass transport shapes the composition of gas and dust available for planet formation.