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Saturday 02 March 2013

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New planet seen forming inside gas cloud

A new planet has been seen forming inside a dense cloud of gas and dust in another solar system for the first time, according to reports.

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A view from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, left, and from the NACO system on ESO's Very Large Telescope of the gas and dust around the young star HD 100546 Photo: EPA

By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent

6:07PM GMT 28 Feb 2013
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Astronomers studying the disc of gas and dust surrounding the young star HD 100546, which at 335 light-years is relatively near to Earth, believe they are witnessing the birth of a gas giant similar to Jupiter, although up to three times larger. If their discovery is confirmed, it would allow huge leaps in our understanding of how planets take shape by allowing scientists to compare their theories against direct observations from the new planet. Dr Sascha Quanz of ETH Zurich, a Swiss university, explained: "So far, planet formation has mostly been a topic tackled by computer simulations. If our discovery is indeed a forming planet, then for the first time scientists will be able to study the planet formation process and the interaction of a forming planet and its natal environment empirically at a very early stage. It has already been suggested that a giant planet orbits HD 100546, a star which has been rigorously studied by astronomers, at about six times the distance from the star as the Earth is from the Sun.
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The new candidate planet is in the even more distant reaches of its solar system, according to the study in the Astrophysical Journal Letters about ten times further from its parent star than Earth. Giant planets are thought to grow by drawing in remnants of gas and dust which are left behind after a star forms. The findings appear to support this theory, with signs of interaction between the candidate planet and the areas of dust and gas immediately around it. Evidence points to the object seen by astronomers being a planet, although there is a small chance the signal they are detecting could come from another source, or that it could be a fully formed planet which has been knocked out of orbit.

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Doobie Brothers Yesterday 09:27 AM

Recommended by 1 person

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Recommend "So we're going to keep a close look at this planet for next billion years or so and see what happens." Report

fried_egg Yesterday 06:04 AM

They are seeing "what they want to see"

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report Recommend Report

adam-ent 02/28/2013 11:49 PM

Emergence of UKip possibly?

steamer 02/28/2013 11:37 PM

"they are witnessing the birth of a gas giant"...... .......................... Oh yes...DT; please use correct English.....birth of whatever in space takes millions/light years; whatever, the way the article is written would suggest the object is being seen born overnight. In reality the bugger will still be there pretty well as it is, when human life on this planet expires.

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report

loftocracy 02/28/2013 11:35 PM

It shall be named UKIP

Recommend Report

dontbehasty Yesterday 05:59 AM

Because it's completely inhospitable and millions of miles from where humanity belongs?

Recommended by 5 people Recommend Report

Fyrd Judge 02/28/2013 07:18 PM

Are they going to name it, The Eric Pickles Arse

Recommended by 3 people Recommend Report Recommended by 2 people Recommend

ptstroud 02/28/2013 06:38 PM

Very interesting. Presumably this plannet will take many millions of years to develop. So countless PhDs and a few Nobel prizes will be forthcoming over the centuries, or even the remainder of time that life on earth, as we know it, exists.

Report

bunnydear 02/28/2013 06:10 PM

It's not a plant. It's Nigel Farage's ego.

Recommended by 2 people Recommend Report Recommended by 2 people Recommend

dontbehasty Yesterday 05:59 AM

It's not that big yet

Report Recommended by 13 people Recommend

mus0snoop 02/28/2013 06:07 PM

Dear Telegraph, it really is pointless to write such articles for your newspaper because comments regarding space technology, the planets, the galaxy or universe always result in predictable jokey political comments which have nothing to do with the subject.

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fried_egg Yesterday 06:06 AM

but i thought when you take, science and politics and put them together you get jokey political science?

Recommend Report

dontbehasty Yesterday 06:02 AM

Try getting your science news from somewhere other than the Telegraph. In fact if you got most your news elsewhere you'd probably be a happier more well informed human being.

Recommended by 4 people Recommend Report

handofgod137 Yesterday 05:44 AM

At least there hasn't been a major invasion by the god-squad, and most of the really scientific-illiterate squat in their sea of ignorance in Delingpole's blog. That being said, I'm pleasantly surprised that there's no derp stating "It's AGW lol!!111!!!" here yet (although it's only a matter of time...).

Recommended by 2 people Recommend Report

Voodoo_Chile 02/28/2013 08:20 PM

Because, thanks to the UK's inexplicable attitude to science over the last couple of decades, most of the posters couldn't tell a supernova from their arse. (Edited by author 1 day ago)

Recommended by 8 people Recommend Report

Martin Lee Meenagh Yesterday 01:03 AM

I can easily tell a supernova from my arse. One brings forth a bright light, which shines greater than the sun and illuminates all it falls upon, and the other is an exploding star.

Recommended by 4 people Recommend Report

SoIntense Yesterday 01:36 AM

Haha. In my case, one is a source of explosive energy so devastating that it can lay waste to entire star systems and wipe planets clean of life, and the other is etc, etc.

Recommended by 4 people Recommend Report

CygnusX_3 02/28/2013 06:43 PM

I couldn't agree more! I wish they'd take their mindless drivel and post elsewhere.

Recommended by 6 people Recommend Report

dante 02/28/2013 06:05 PM

I know an expert in Ireland, Professor J. Dean who, like Prof B. Cox is a pianist. He insists it is just an existing planet that has been knocked out of its orbit. He used to be an astronaut too!

Recommend Report

hezza 02/28/2013 05:34 PM

Seen for the first time? Rubbish. I saw this years ago - took a photo and tweeted it. Even Sally Berk cow retweeted it.

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report

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*science face*.

twiz999 02/28/2013 05:04 PM

It looks as though the planet is being born marked by the cross of St. George. The Universe has spoken.

Recommended by 2 people Recommend Report

kulvinder 02/28/2013 04:52 PM

Do they see godly hands making the super planet

Recommended by 2 people Recommend Report Recommend Report

True_Belle 02/28/2013 04:30 PM

Why isn't it a dying star?

Lord Haw-Haw. 02/28/2013 05:30 PM

HD 100546 is a young star, our own British astronomers Paul Cresswell & Richard Nelsen + Phil Hellary have previously done numerical simulations which show in the initial stages protoplanets migrate inward toward the host star in 98% of cases only in the remaining 2% is the protoplanet ejected: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1112.2997... Their commendable work on planetary system formation and mutual resonance toward the central star may well be observationally endorsed in the foreseeable future.

Recommended by 1 person Recommend Report

bob3 02/28/2013 03:58 PM

How's it going in Eastleigh

Recommended by 4 people Recommend Report 1 2 3 Next

Social Media Reactions WentieWard on twitter Yesterday 10:29 PM

@CassidyWard: New planet seen forming. #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Awesome http://t.co/ZB9NCCn6bP #neat

CassidyWard on twitter Yesterday 10:23 PM

New planet seen forming. #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Awesome http://t.co/TjGvx2RePl

hellfire56 on twitter Yesterday 09:30 PM

Coolest picture of a new #planet forming inside a dust cloud that you'll see today. http://t.co/M4DcKwlVHq

elliotnfriends on twitter Yesterday 09:10 PM

http://t.co/oid4sFgjFb interesting shit

AncientGods on twitter Yesterday 06:22 PM

New planet seen forming inside gas cloud via @Telegraph http://t.co/N8RddKDWNY

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babusooraj on twitter Yesterday 03:17 PM

New planet seen forming inside gas cloud via @Telegraph http://t.co/sOIqQ93NQJ

marjieN on twitter Yesterday 01:09 PM

New planet seen forming inside gas cloud via @Telegraph http://t.co/w37hDgtto9 #astronomy

UKTutorsDir on twitter Yesterday 12:50 PM

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themamapreneur on Yesterday 12:00 PM

twitter

New planet seen forming inside gas cloud. http://t.co/4zBISl8FbZ

belindasilbert on twitter Yesterday 11:10 AM

New planet seen forming inside gas cloud - Telegraph http://t.co/sgY2PG8B85
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