A bright ring of dust circling a young star can look calm from far away. In reality, it may mark one of the messiest moments ...

A team of astronomers has achieved a breakthrough in observing planetary formation by directly tracking the rotation of a ...

This simulation of a lone super-Earth in a protoplanetary disk takes into account the effects of dust in addition to gas, resulting in a much more realistic picture. After 2,000 orbits, narrow gaps ...

The rotation of a protoplanetary disk (a disk where planets are being formed) has been observed directly for the very first time by mapping the emissions from the dust grains within it. The disk in ...

A short animation showing how turbulent forces (the Coriolis Effect and vertical shear) mix up the layers of dust and gas orbiting young stars. This animation is taken from Joseph Barranco's 3-D ...

Still from a simulation of a forming planetary disk. The images show the rotating inner disk along the top half, and the shadow it casts on the outer disk in the lower half. CREDIT Rebecca Nealon / ...

Giant planets that developed early in a star system's life could solve a mystery of why spiral structures are not observed in young protoplanetary discs, according to a new study. Giant planets that ...