Video: ALMA Observes Ring Of Dust Believed To Be Stellar Pregnancy

Depiction of HD 142527, discovered by Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array team in Chile.

A gigantic ring of dust and gas whirling around a distant star may just be forming planets at this very moment, according to a Japanese team who recently observed the stellar object with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.

The ring is spinning around the star HD 142527 (depicted in the video below), which is over 456 light-years from Earth, and is located in the southern constellation Lupus. The ring of dust “is asymmetric in that it has a portion that is noticeably denser than the rest,” the report from Discovery.com stated.

It’s the northern region, which is particularly significant for the team to study.

“We are very surprised at the brightness of the northern side,” said Misato Fukagawa, who is the leader of the team and an assistant professor at Osaka University. “The brightest part in submillimeter wave is located far from the central star, and the distance is comparable to five times the distance between the Sun and the Neptune. I have never seen such a bright knot in such a distant position.”

the “bright knot” referenced by Fukagawa suggests the area that is the densest clustering of material in that portion of the ring and just the right condition to start the formation of protoplanets.

“When a sufficient amount of material is accumulated, planets or comets can be formed here,” Fukagawa added.

The discovered ring of dust is the perfect observation for ALMA, which is the perfect instrument to study it. It will give the team a never-before seen chance to gather more information surrounding the birth and formation of stars.

“HD 142527 is a peculiar object, as far as our limited knowledge goes,” said Fukagawa. “However, other asymmetrical protoplanetary disks have been discovered since the early ALMA science operation started. Our final goal is to reveal the major physical process which controls the formation of planets.”