NASA Study Shows Disks Don't Need Planets to Make Patterns

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NASA Study Shows Disks Don't Need Planets to Make Patterns

 

Many young stars known to host planets also possess disks containing dust and icy grains, particles produced by collisions among asteroids and comets also orbiting the star. These debris disks often show sharply defined rings or spiral patterns, features that could signal the presence of orbiting planets. Astronomers study the disk features as a way to better understand the physical properties of known planets and possibly uncover new ones.

 

But a new study by NASA scientists sounds a cautionary note in interpreting rings and spiral arms as signposts for new planets. Thanks to interactions between gas and dust, a debris disk may, under the right conditions, produce narrow rings on its own, no planets needed.

 

Watch the changing dust density and the growth of structure in this simulated debris disk, which extends about 100 times farther from its star than Earth's orbit around the sun. At left, the disk is seen from a 24-degree angle; at right, it's face-on. Lighter colors show higher dust density.

Image Credit: 

NASA Goddard/W. Lyra (JPL-Caltech), M. Kuchner (Goddard)

 

 

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