Scientists see Jupiter-like planet forming in unusual way

[Buster's Uncle]

Scientists see Jupiter-like planet forming in unusual way
The Independent
Andrew Griffin - 1h ago


© NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
An artist’s illustration of a massive, newly forming exoplanet called AB Aurigae b - NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)


Scientists have seen a new Jupiter-like exoplanet forming, in an unusual way that could change our understanding of how planets form.

An image shows the planet forming far from its star, at a distance about 93 times as far as we are from our own Sun.

It suggests that giant planets can form in a new way, outside of the standard model used to explain how planets form. Rather than the usual “core accretion”, the planet is formed out of big chunks of gas, forming through gravitational instability.

That is a dramatic and violent process, scientists say. And it is still one that remains largely theoretical.

The image is an important first look at a planet as it forms, and could alter how we understand massive gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, the scientists say.