Scientists have observed an enormous planet about nine times the mass of Jupiter at a remarkably early stage of formation - describing it as still in the womb - in a discovery that challenges the current understanding of planetary formation.
Super-young protoplanet challenges planet formation theory cosmosmagazine.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cosmosmagazine.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Prenatal protoplanet upends planet formation models miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In what is possibly the first direct evidence of a planet forming during an "intense and violent" breakup of a disk of swirling gas and dust, a nascent gas giant was spotted a long distance from its host star. A team of astronomers at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory contributed crucial data to the study, which is published in the April 4 issue of Nature