A new look at a protoplanetary disk surrounding a star revealed a massive exoplanet forming spiral arms, the first detection of its kind,
Many galaxies — including our own Milky Way — form in spiral-like shapes. But there are some curious stars out there that have spirals of their own, surrounded by what's known as protoplanetary disks of gas and dust that can eventually form planets and other objects. These spirals have long been the source of intrigue for astronomers because of the prominent, tentacle-like "arms" that extend out of them.
While it persists, the sheer gravity of the newly discovered exoplanet, designated MWC 758c, appears to be drawing some of the disk's spiraling debris outward into these striking arms. At twice the mass of Jupiter, it's a real heavyweight. "Spiral arms can provide feedback on the planet formation process itself," Wagner explained. "Our observation of this new planet further supports the idea that giant planets form early on, accreting mass from their birth environment, and then gravitationally alter the subsequent environment for other, smaller planets to form."Arguably the bigger mystery is why astronomers weren't able to spot these nascent gas giants in the first place.
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