[Kyushu University] Planetary systems like our solar system are born within a disk of gas and dust (protoplanetary disk) surrounding a newly formed star. Observations with the ALMA telescope have […]
Protoplanetary Disk
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Capture of Interstellar Planetesimals in Protoplanetary Discs in Binary Star Systems
[astro-ph.EP] Planet formation requires growth over 12 orders of magnitude in size, from micron-sized dust grains to fully formed planets.
![Final semi-major axes and masses for all objects produced in simulations with regular disks. The left panel shows objects produced in disks with low C/O ratios and the right one shows planets in high C/O ratio disks. The dash-dotted line shows the initial mass of planestesimals in our simulations while the dotted line shows the initial mass of planetary embryos. We consider planets to be anything at or above the initial embryo mass, fragments to be anything below the initial planetesimal mass, and planetesimals to be any object at or above the initial planetesimal mass but below the initial embryo mass. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Correlations.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Correlations Between The Carbon-to-Oxygen Ratio and the Orbital and Physical Properties of Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] Studies suggest that protoplanetary disks around stars with high carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratios can produce terrestrial planets with carbon-dominated compositions instead of silicon-dominated ones.
Posted inAstrogeology
Our Solar System Chose Fire Over Ice To Build Its First Bodies
[Yale University] When the solar system first took up the task of building solid bodies — such as planets, moons, and protoplanets — it basically had a choice between two […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
The First Complete Picture Of (Gas) Planet Formation In Action
[Max Planck Institute for Astronomy] Over the past decades, astronomers have reconstructed a fairly complete scenario for planet formation, from minute dust motes clumping together to the emergence of rocky […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
JWST Reveals Refractory-Rich Water Ice in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Evidence for a Continuum of Grain Properties across Protoplanetary Disks
[astro-ph.EP] We present JWST/NIRSpec PRISM observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS obtained on 2025 August 6 (Epoch 1), 2025 December 22 (Epoch 2), and 2026 April 1 (Epoch 3), spanning […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Youngest Exoplanet Yet Discovered Found Hiding in Keck Observatory Data
[W.M.Keck Observatory] Astronomers have confirmed the youngest exoplanet detected so far, offering a rare glimpse into the earliest stages of planetary formation. The planet, known as Elias 2-24 b, is […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
JWST/MIRI Imaging Search for Kinematically Detected Protoplanetary Candidates
[astro-ph.EP] Kinematic perturbations observed with ALMA in CO line emission provide evidence for a population of embedded giant protoplanets shaping the structure of protoplanetary disks.
![Disk properties [Ri,Rco,Rdust] and exoplanet semimajor axis values are plotted in units of the PMS host stellar radius as a function of host star mass. The plot shows planets are less common inside the disk corotation radius suggesting that planetary inward migration is frequently halted in the vicinity of the corotation radius. Some planets have semimajor axis values < Rdust the dust sublimation radius, implying that planet migration must have occurred to populate the semimajor axis < Rdust region. Ri & Rco (gray diamonds and red squares respectively) are from the Pittman et al. (2025b) survey. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Exoplanet-System.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Exoplanet System Architecture: Sculpting the Inner Regions
[astro-ph.EP] In this study, we seek to improve our understanding of the competing roles of disk-driven and planet-planet dynamical migration in sculpting planetary system architecture in the inner ≲1.5 au […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Planet Formation at Cosmic Dawn: Planetesimals in H2O-rich Disks around Low-mass Stars
[The Astrophysical Journal Letters]. Primordial, or Population III (Pop III), supernovae (SNe) were the first nucleosynthetic engines in the Universe, forging the heavy elements required for the later formation of […]