Unsettled Youth: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System
Sunday, November 8, 2009 - 22:28
in Astronomy & Space
Before our planets found their way to the stable orbits they circle in today, they wiggled and jostled about like unsettled children. Now, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a young star with evidence for the same kind of orbital hyperactivity. Young planets circling the star are thought to be disturbing smaller comet-like bodies, causing them to collide and kick up a huge halo of dust.