Unveiling the Hidden Giant: A Massive Exoplanet Found in Young Star’s Dusty Disk
Astronomers have unveiled a colossal exoplanet concealed within the dusty disk of the young star MP Mus. This discovery marks the first instance of the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission detecting a planet within a protoplanetary disk. The gas giant, estimated to be three to ten times the size of Jupiter, was previously shrouded by the surrounding fog of gas and dust.
The discovery, spearheaded by Dr. Álvaro Ribas from the University of Cambridge, amalgamated data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Gaia mission. Initially, MP Mus appeared to possess a featureless disk devoid of planets. However, more in-depth observations at longer wavelengths revealed gaps and rings, indicative of planetary formation.
“Our earlier observations showed a boring, flat disk,” stated Ribas. “But this seemed odd to us, since the disk is between seven and ten million years old.”
The planet orbits at a distance ranging between one and three times Earth’s distance from the Sun. This discovery suggests the potential existence of numerous similar hidden worlds around other young stars.
Source: ScienceDaily