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Debris Disk

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Metallic Disk Around Hidden Companion Dims a Sun-like Star
astronomy1 month ago

Metallic Disk Around Hidden Companion Dims a Sun-like Star

A Sun-like star J0705+0612 dramatically dimmed between September 2024 and May 2025 due to a giant, metal-rich cloud about 1.2 billion miles from the star. The cloud appears bound to a distant companion with a few Jupiter masses—potentially a brown dwarf, giant planet, or low-mass star—carrying a circumsecondary or circumplanetary disk. Gas moves with winds of metals such as calcium and iron, measured with the GHOST spectrograph, indicating a dynamic debris disk around the companion. The star is ~3,000 light-years away, and infrared excess suggests a disk in an older system, implying a late-stage collision may have produced the cloud. This rare observation shows mature planetary systems can experience dramatic, disk-driven obscurations.

via gizmodo.com|
#astronomy#debris-disk#exoplanets
"NASA's Webb Spots Dusty 'Cat's Tail' in Beta Pictoris System"
astronomy2 years ago

"NASA's Webb Spots Dusty 'Cat's Tail' in Beta Pictoris System"

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a new, previously unseen structure in the Beta Pictoris system, located 63 light-years away. The structure, shaped like a cat's tail, extends from the secondary debris disk and is composed of highly porous organic refractory material. The team of astronomers also observed differences in temperature between the two disks, indicating different compositions. The team's preferred model suggests that the cat's tail is the result of a recent dust production event, and its unusual curvature is explained as an optical illusion. These findings were presented at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society and provide new insights into the complex planetary system of Beta Pictoris.

via NASA|
#astronomical-discovery#astronomy#beta-pictoris
Webb's Gaze: Exploring Dwarf Planets and Debris Discs
astronomy2 years ago

Webb's Gaze: Exploring Dwarf Planets and Debris Discs

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has observed a debris disk around a white dwarf star, providing insights into the composition and formation of these disks. The observations of the star WD 0145+234 confirm the presence of silicate grains and suggest the presence of carbonates, indicating larger body collisions have contributed to the disk. This finding suggests that white dwarf debris disks may result from similar planetary systems as our own. Further analysis of the data is ongoing to determine the most useful future observations.

via Universe Today|
#astronomy#carbonates#debris-disk
"Webb Telescope Uncovers Secrets of Fomalhaut's Planetary System and Debris Disk"
astronomy2 years ago

"Webb Telescope Uncovers Secrets of Fomalhaut's Planetary System and Debris Disk"

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured a sharp infrared image of Fomalhaut's debris disk, revealing details never seen before, including a large dust cloud in the outer ring that is possible evidence for colliding bodies, and an inner dust disk and gap likely shaped and maintained by embedded but unseen planets. The debris belts stretch across a gargantuan amount of space, nearly 14 billion miles (23 billion km) from Fomalhaut. The telescope used its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to capture the image.

via HT Tech|
#astronomy#debris-disk#fomalhaut
"Webb Telescope's Surprising Discoveries: Hidden Planets, Spiral Galaxies, and More"
astronomy2 years ago

"Webb Telescope's Surprising Discoveries: Hidden Planets, Spiral Galaxies, and More"

The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a more complex structure than expected in the debris disk surrounding the star Fomalhaut, including hints of planets forming among the dust and debris. The telescope's powerful infrared instruments caught the glow of dust in the disk's inner regions, revealing the presence of multiple rings and other features. The Fomalhaut system is full of surprises, and astronomers have been looking at it for a long time, with each new telescope revealing something new.

via Universe Today|
#astronomy#debris-disk#fomalhaut
NASA's James Webb Telescope Captures Breathtaking Photos of Distant Star
astronomy2 years ago

NASA's James Webb Telescope Captures Breathtaking Photos of Distant Star

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of Fomalhaut, a star located 25 light-years away from Earth, revealing three belts around it, including two inner ones previously unknown. The discovery of these belts could be the strongest indication yet that Fomalhaut has planets, possibly with alien life. The images also reveal a large dust cloud within the outer ring, which may be evidence of a collision between two protoplanets. The study describing the findings has been published in Nature Astronomy.

via Daily Mail|
#astronomy#debris-disk#fomalhaut