Scientists discover a giant “planet factory” beyond Jupiter
Key takeaways
- About 4.6 billion years ago, the young Sun was surrounded by a massive disk of gas and dust.
- Now, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany say they have identified one of the Solar System's most important planet-forming regions.
- Using computer simulations, the team found that this region produced planetesimals with very different compositions over a span of roughly two million years.
Why this matters: new research or scientific developments with potential real-world impact.
About 4.6 billion years ago, the young Sun was surrounded by a massive disk of gas and dust. Over time, tiny dust grains collided and stuck together, eventually forming larger rocky bodies called planetesimals, the building blocks of planets and asteroids. But scientists believe this process was far from simple. Different regions of the early Solar System likely evolved under very different conditions, and multiple stages of planet formation may have happened at the same time.
Now, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany say they have identified one of the Solar System's most important planet-forming regions. According to a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal, a ring-shaped area just beyond Jupiter's orbit acted as both an efficient and remarkably versatile "breeding ground" for planetesimals.
Using computer simulations, the team found that this region produced planetesimals with very different compositions over a span of roughly two million years.