Posted on 04/05/2006 6:01:27 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES - Scientists think they have solved the mystery of how planets form around a star born in a violent supernova explosion, saying they have detected for the first time a swirling disk of debris from which planets can rise.
The discovery is surprising because the dusty disk orbiting the pulsar, or dead star, resembles the cloud of gas and dust from which Earth emerged. Scientists say the latest finding should shed light on how planetary systems form.
"It shows that planet formation is really ubiquitous in the universe. It's a very robust process and can happen in all sorts of unexpected environments," said lead researcher Deepto Chakrabarty, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Details appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
Using NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope, MIT scientists observed bright radiation released by a disk of rubble around a young pulsar 13,000 light years from Earth. The pulsar was once a giant star that collapsed in a supernova explosion about 100,000 years ago.
While researchers didn't directly see planets forming in the disk, they believe the building blocks are present.
In 1992, another team of scientists found planets circling a different pulsar, but they didn't observe a disk and couldn't tell how the planetary system formed.
Chakrabarty said the debris disk most likely formed from metal-rich material that failed to escape the supernova. The disk resembled that seen around sun-like stars, leading researchers to conclude it might spawn a new planetary system.
If planets did exist in the recently discovered debris disk, they wouldn't be habitable because of the violent process that gave rise to the disk, said astronomer Charles Beichman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
"This is more Chernobyl than Malibu," said Beichman, who had no role in the research.
Scientists have long believed that planets like Earth were formed when dust surrounding a young star began to clump, smashing and fusing into one another.
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On the Net:
Nature journal: http://www.nature.com
Spitzer telescope: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
An undated artist rendering provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech, depicts a dead star called a pulsar, center, and the surrounding disk of rubble, discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. A study in Thursday's, April 6, issue of the journal Nature says researchers have solved the mystery of how planets grow around a star born in a violent supernova explosion. (AP Photo/NASA, JPL-Caltech)
This image was taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in October 2005 and provided April 4, 2006. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed dense knots of dust and gas in our Milky Way Galaxy. This cosmic dust is a concentration of elements that are responsible for the formation of stars in our galaxy and throughout the universe. These dark, opaque knots of gas and dust are called 'Bok globules,' and they are absorbing light in the center of the nearby emission nebula and star-forming region, NGC 281. NGC 281 is located nearly 9,500 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia. (AP Photo/NASA)
A NASA image of the constellation Cassiopeia, in which scientists have spied a disk around a pulsar about 13,000 light-years from Earth, taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Planets outside our solar system might form, phoenix-like, out of the debris circling a dead star known as a pulsar, researchers reported on Wednesday after finding the makings for a planet near such a body. (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA-JPL/Handout/Reuters)
In this infrared false-colored image from NASA's Spitzer Space
Telescope, the galaxy 'Messier 82' emits smoke due to stellar fires
on March 16, 2006. 'Messier 82' is located about 12 million light-
years away in the 'Ursa Major' constellation.
NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/NASA/JPL/Handout
Ah yes, Ye old...."more evidence for theories, grants and tenure" line. Translated to working puke speak...."We don't have a clue, but with more money, we might someday get one..."
Billions and billions of years ago, God realized he needed to clean out his cat's litter box....
Wonder when the enviro-whackos will blame Bush and Halliburton for all that pollution.
space ping
Cue the young earth creationists in 5, 4, 3, 2 . . .
(I wish I could remember which FReeper I stole that from)
Yup, they're getting real close to the answer of how dustballs form under the bed too.
I thought everything was formed in 6 days?
Thanks for the ping. :-)
That would be us, including the asteroid belt. Metal is useful and is the reason for developing space especially as it concerns asteroid mining. Some see wonders and questions, others see economic opportunity.
I *want* to crash the global platinum-family valuation ;)
(and make a tidy profit while doing so)
de nada, patron
LOS ANGELES - Scientists think they have solved the mystery of how planets form around a star born in a violent supernova explosion, saying they have detected for the first time a swirling disk of debris from which planets can rise.
Dim witted people will observe that word and believe they did something actually. Speculation, assumption, guessing.
First time: A first time experience and they can determine a whole working hypothesis. The discovery is surprising because the dusty disk orbiting the pulsar, or dead star, resembles the cloud of gas and dust from which Earth emerged. Scientists say the latest finding should shed light on how planetary systems form
Resembles the cloud of gas: please where are those old family photos. Speculation assumption, guessing. "It shows that planet formation is really ubiquitous in the universe. It's a very robust process and can happen in all sorts of unexpected environments," said lead researcher Deepto Chakrabarty, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ubiquitous=? One planet many formations.
Can happen, yea might happen could happen, should happen, thought to happen. Speculation, assumption, guessing. Using NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope, MIT scientists observed bright radiation released by a disk of rubble around a young pulsar 13,000 light years from Earth. The pulsar was once a giant star that collapsed in a supernova explosion about 100,000 years ago.
The farthest man can accurately measure from earth is about 20 light years some will say 100, this is all due to the angle the earth makes in the rotation around the sun which would be about 1 degree when measured 6 months apart, in those kind of distances it would be like looking down a straight line, it would not even resemble a triangle.
Chakrabarty said the debris disk most likely formed
Scientists have long believed
That is an out right lie they have only believed recently, many scientist were Christians. Even many scientist are and were Christians today yet they do not stand up for Jesus because it goes against the flow of worldly thinking.
I just have two words:
Pure flapdoodle!
I believe that it is flap a doodle which would then make it 4 words. :-D
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