Slashdot Mirror
Possible Baby Picture of a Giant Planet
astroengine writes "Acquired by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), an infrared observation shows a portion of the disk of gas and dust around the star HD 100546, located 335 light-years away in the constellation Musca. By physically blocking out the light from the star itself by means of an opaque screen, the light from the protoplanetary disk around HD 100546 can be seen, revealing a large bright clump that's thought to be a planet in the process of formation (PDF). If it is indeed a baby planet, it's a big one — as large as, or perhaps even larger than, Jupiter."
Jupiter was soooo cute when it was just an asteroid. Just look at that little adorable red spot!
Table-ized A.I.
Nap time story for a planet.
Goldilocks said, "This planet is too hot. This planet is too cold. But this planet is just right!"
Have gnu, will travel.