More specifically, the core accretion theory would take a very, very long time to occur with a Jovian-like planet at the distance of AB Aur b. “Nature is clever it can produce planets in a range of different ways,” said Thayne Currie, lead author on the AB Aur b study, and scientist at the Subaru Telescope and Eureka Scientific.Ĭurrie et al., upon further examination of the distance of AB Aur b from its parent star and its characteristics, concluded that the disk instability formation theory is the only theory that would allow a planet like AB Aur b to form in its location. Unlike the core accretion theory, the disk instability theory follows a “top-down” approach. However, some exoplanets - like AB Aur b - are thought to take a different approach.ĪB Aur b is thought to be forming via a process known as “disk instability,” wherein a massive accretion disk breaks up into one or more planet-mass fragments due to gravity instabilities inside the accretion disk. Most exoplanets known to be actively forming are thought to follow the “bottom-up” approach of core accretion, making it the most common Jovian-like planet formation theory. As these collisions occur and material sticks together, the protoplanet’s core will typically begin to collect gas from the disk as the rest of the accretion process takes place. One of the leading theories behind how Jovian-like planets form is called “core accretion,” a process by which a planet is formed by the gas and dust of an accretion disk (like that of AB Aurigae’s protoplanetary disk) colliding and sticking together over time. That’s over twice as far as Pluto is from our Sun! Hubble captured evidence of this “Jupiter-like” protoplanet forming at a whopping distance of 8.6 billion miles away from its host star. AB Aur b orbits its parent star at a distance of around 93 AU (astronomical units), or over twice the distance between the Sun and Pluto, and is currently estimated to be approximately nine times more massive than Jupiter - making this an extremely unique exoplanet. Surrounding AB Aurigae is AB Aurigae b (AB Aur b), a massive gas giant protoplanet currently forming within AB Aurigae’s protoplanetary disk of dust and gas. Named AB Aurigae, the star is roughly two million years old and has a solar mass that is 2.4 times that of the Sun’s. In the Auriga constellation 531 light-years away, a young Herbig Ae star hosts a massive protoplanetary disk. Specifically, one study found one exoplanet to be intensely forming at an extreme distance from its parent star and doing so in an unconventional way.Īdditionally, NASA announced a massive milestone in exoplanet research: 5,000 total exoplanets have been discovered by NASA, ESA, and other government agencies and private companies. At least that's where you'll find Nate Swinehart, the artist for today's star-studded Doodle.In recent weeks, two teams of researchers released studies identifying the strange characteristics of an exoplanet using the joint NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope. We don’t know about you, but we’re hoping to spend our next vacation luxuriating by the cosmic pool.

If you have a virtual reality device, you can also take a stroll around.Īn artist's fantasy of the surface of TRAPPIST-1e. If we’re able to visit one of the TRAPPIST-1 planets one day, we could be able to watch each neighboring planet pass by on its orbital journey! Until then, you can explore TRAPPIST-1 d, the third planet in the TRAPPIST-1 solar system in 3D using your computer or mobile device. Unlike our solar system, the planets in TRAPPIST-1 are very close together. So if three of these new TRAPPIST-1 planets land in the habitable zone, what about the other four? According to NASA, all seven planets could have liquid water, the most crucial ingredient for life - assuming the right atmospheric conditions. What exactly does this new solar system TRAPPIST-1 mean for our universe? Well, three of these newly discovered planets land smack-dab in the middle of what scientists call the habitable zone, or the distance from the star it orbits “where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water.” Though scientists have some serious studying to do before we can definitively say whether any of the new TRAPPIST-1 planets are habitable, the potential is very promising. This artist's concept shows what each of the TRAPPIST-1 planets may look like. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech In space terms, that practically makes us next-door neighbors! This just in! Turns out it wasn’t just dust on the telescope lens: NASA just announced the discovery of seven earth-size planets orbiting the same star only 235 trillion miles away.

Exoplanets discovered