Visualizing debris disk 'roller derby' to understand planetary system evolution
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 - 12:31
in Astronomy & Space
When planets first begin to form, the aftermath of the process leaves a ring of rocky and icy material that's rotating and colliding around the young central star like a celestial roller derby. Analogs to our own Solar System's Kuiper Belt, these disks of debris left over from planet formation can be detected by astronomers and studied to help understand the processes that create planetary systems.