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Sign Of "Embryonic Planets" Forming In Nearby Stellar Systems

Astronomers are pointing to three nearby stars they say may hold "embryonic planets" -- a missing link in planet-formation theories. As scientists try to piece together how our own planet came to be, they look to the forming planets of other star systems for clues. But astronomers have been unable to find evidence for one of the key stages of planet development, a period early in the planet's formation when it is only as large as tiny Pluto.

4 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Question about viewing far away planets by yincrash · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is it possible that intelligent life could being viewing our planet as an embryonic planet, and we would see theirs as an embryonic planet? I don't know enough about how long ago that period was and how far away these planets are that we're looking at.

  2. Early universe stages matter? by dada21 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Doesn't it make more sense to consider the theories of the earlier universal structure (say, more independent gas and particle groups) that would bring the laws of gravity into the formation of both planetary masses and solar ones?

    I imagine that the formation of planets (say, from those independent gas and particle groups attracting each other to collapse into planets/suns) would be easier to understand in an earlier universal structure, and may be less evident as the universe progressed to clumping into planets, etc?

    Do we have a lot of evidence of areas of our own galaxy where there still might exist these independent gas and particle clouds, versus the chance that existing massive suns and planets are throwing off the chance for these clouds to exist?

  3. Re:Not from these systems by rtb61 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now of course if planetary core formation occurs prior to stellar ignition, there is nothing to see at any inter-stellar distance, as planetary formation would be completely obscured by the dust cloud.

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    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  4. Re:Important Question? by vegiVamp · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How did you think black holes got stretched so big ?

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    What a depressingly stupid machine.