Planets form in disks of gas and dust, orbiting young stars. The MIRI Mid-INfrared Disk Survey (MINDS), led by Thomas Henning from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in […]
Protoplanetary Disk
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Press Release
Webb Finds Plethora of Carbon Molecules Around Young Star
An international team of astronomers has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study the disk of gas and dust around a young, very low-mass star. The results reveal the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
JWST-TST High Contrast: JWST/NIRCam Observations Of The Young Giant Planet β Pic b
We present the first JWST/NIRCam observations of the directly-imaged gas giant exoplanet β Pic b. Observations in six filters using NIRCam’s round coronagraphic masks provide a high signal-to-noise detection of […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Photo-dynamical Characterisation Of The TOI-178 Resonant Chain
The TOI-178 system consists of a nearby late K-dwarf transited by six planets in the super-Earth to mini-Neptune regime, with radii ranging from 1.2 to 2.9 earth radius and orbital […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The Empirical and Radiative Transfer Hybrid (EaRTH) Disk Model: Merging Analyses of Protoplanetary Dust Disk Mineralogy and Structure
Our understanding of how exoplanets form and evolve relies on analyses of both the mineralogy of protoplanetary disks and their detailed structures; however, these key complementary aspects of disks are […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Chemistry Across Dust and Gas Gaps in Protoplanetary Disks: Modelling the Co-spatial Molecular Rings in the HD 100546 Disk
High-resolution observations show that typically both the dust and the gas in nearby extended protoplanetary disks are structured, possibly related to radial and azimuthal variations in the disk density and/or […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Interstellar, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Planet Formation Regulated By Galactic-scale Interstellar Turbulence
Planets form from protoplanetary discs of dust and gas that surround stars younger than a few million years. The properties of these discs dictate how planets grow, determining the nature, […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Terrestrial Planet Formation From A Ring: Long-term Simulations Accounting For The Giant Planet Instability
The process leading to the formation of the terrestrial planet remains elusive. In a previous publication, we have shown that, if the first generation of planetesimals forms in a ring […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Chemistry In Protoplanetary Disks
Planets are formed inside disks around young stars. The gas, dust, and ice in these natal disks are the building materials of planets, and therefore their compositions fundamentally shape the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Status Report, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Formation Of The Four Terrestrial Planets In The Jupiter-Saturn Chaotic Excitation Scenario: Fundamental Properties And Water Delivery
The Jupiter-Saturn chaotic excitation (JSCE) scenario proposes that the protoplanetary disk was dynamically excited and depleted beyond ~1-1.5 au in a few Myr, offering a new and plausible explanation for […]