Latest news with #Ginski
NDTV
10-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Astronomers Discover Likely Site Of New Gas Giant Planet In Formation
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Astronomers at the University of Galway discovered a new planet-forming site using ESO's VLT. The planet is likely a gas giant with a mass many times that of Jupiter. Stunning images show a structured disk around a young star, extending 130 astronomical units. Astronomers used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) in Chile to discover a new site of a new planet in formation, which is most likely a gas giant planet, according to findings published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. According to the team of astronomers, led by the University of Galway, the planet is many times the mass of Jupiter. The astronomers took stunning images of a distant young star for the first time. The pictures were captured in the form of scattered near-infrared light, which revealed a structured disk. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) published a stunning view of the new planet-forming disk as its picture of the week on Monday (June 9). The disc was seen extended to 130 astronomical units from its parent star. A bright ring and a gap at the centre, roughly 50 astronomical units, were also seen in the images. For comparison, one astronomical unit is the approximate mean distance between Earth and the sun. It's about 93 million miles. Meanwhile, Neptune, which is the outermost planet in our solar system, has an orbital distance from the sun of 30 astronomical units. "While our team has now observed close to 100 possible planet-forming discs around nearby stars, this image is something special," said Dr Christian Ginski, who led the study. "One rarely finds a system with both rings and spiral arms in a configuration that almost perfectly fits the predictions of how a forming planet is supposed to shape its parent disk according to theoretical models," said Dr Ginski who is from the Centre for Astronomy in the School of Natural Sciences at University of Galway. "Detections like this bring us one step closer to understand how planets form in general and how our solar system might have formed in the distant past," Ginski further added. Team hopes to take an actual image The astronomers now hope to be able to take an actual image of the young planet using the sensitivity of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Researchers will be able to study the planet-disk interaction if planets in the disk are confirmed. Chloe Lawlor, Ph.D. student in Physics with a specialisation in Astrophysics, University of Galway, said, "Working with Dr. Christian Ginski on the 2MASS1612 paper has been an incredible experience. As an early-career researcher, having the opportunity to contribute to such exciting work has been especially rewarding. This work has been the perfect introduction to scientific writing and collaboration, and I'm very grateful for this kick-start to my research career."
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
See a young star potentially giving birth to a giant planet in new image from Very Large Telescope
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Researchers have captured a mesmerizing image of what they believe to be a giant planet forming in the orbit of a young star, according to a new study. The image, taken with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, shows the star surrounded by an eye-shaped disk of swirling gas and dust. A dark ring within the disk suggests that the gravity of a newborn planet, likely a gas giant, is accumulating material as it carves a path around the star. "We are talking about a fairly massive planet here, a few times the mass of Jupiter most likely," study lead-author Christian Ginski, a lecturer in the physics unit at the University of Galway in Ireland, told Live Science in an email. "It clears out a gap as it orbits because material falls down onto the planet. One might almost think of the planet like a hoover in that sense sucking up all the dust." This could be a rare example of a planet detected while still in its infancy. Ginski and his colleagues released a simulation of the potential giant exoplanet within the disk and hope to confirm its presence using the James Webb Space Telescope in the coming months. The researchers posted their findings Monday (June 9) to the preprint database arXiv, with the paper accepted for future publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Related: Ginormous planet discovered around tiny red star challenges our understanding of solar systems Ginski and his colleagues are trying to learn more about the diversity of planetary systems and the forces needed to create a solar system similar to our own. They do this by seeking out young stars, which could be actively giving birth to new planets. Ginski noted that while researchers have detected several thousand planets around distant stars, these are all quite old. "We are basically looking at the meal after it is fully cooked," he said. "Young planets inside their forming disk help us to understand all the ingredients and how they interact with each other. So far we only have 1 confirmed such planet in its infancy and 2-3 more candidates which are not fully conf[i]rmed yet." The young star at the center of the new image is named 2MASSJ16120668-3010270, or 2MASSJ1612 for short, and is located 430 light-years from our solar system. A 2024 study noted the presence of a gap in the star's disk, so researchers already suspected that there could be a planet forming there. In the new study, 2MASSJ1612 was viewed in scattered near-infrared light for the first time, revealing previously unseen details, including two spiral arms emanating from the center of its disk. Ginski explained that the arms form because the planet is perturbing, or altering the disk, as it moves, creating what are known as density waves. He likened this effect to the ripples created by throwing a stone in a pond. RELATED STORIES —James Webb telescope spots 'groundbreaking' molecule in scorching clouds of giant 'hell planet' —James Webb telescope discovers frozen water around a distant, sunlike star —Scientists reveal 'most promising yet' signs of alien life on planet K2-18b "The stone is perturbing the water, sending out waves, somewhat similar to the planet in the disk," Ginski said. "Now think about the stone skipping over the water instead of just plunging into it. Ever more complex wave pattern are the result. In the disk, where the planet circles around the star, this leads eventually to the formation of these spiral patterns." Ginski noted that he has observed around 100 young star systems and that researchers typically find either the carved-out ring or the spiral structures, but in this case, the images revealed both — as theoretical models of planet formation predict. He said he felt like "a kid on Christmas morning" when he first saw the images. "Basically it appears we may be looking at an absolute textbook case here," Ginski said. "So that makes us think that we can predict what kind of planet is in this disk, and we think it should be one that we can actually take an image of with the right equipment (which is why we secured follow-up time at the James Webb Space Telescope)."
The Irish Sun
09-06-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Irish astronomers make exciting discovery of possible giant gas planet multiple times the mass of Jupiter
AN international team of astronomers led by the University of Galway has discovered the likely site of a new planet in formation. And the exciting new find is most likely a gas giant up to a few times the mass of Jupiter. Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) in Chile, the researchers captured spectacular images around a distant young star for the first time in the form of scattered near-infrared light that revealed an exceptionally structured disk. The disk extends out to 130 astronomical units from its parent star - the equivalent to 130 times the distance between It shows a bright ring followed by a gap centered at roughly 50 For comparison, the outermost planet in our solar system, Neptune, has an orbital distance from the Sun of 30 astronomical units. Read more in Tech Inside the disk gap, reminiscent of the outskirts of a hurricane on Earth, a system of spiral arms are visible. Dr Christian Ginski, lecturer at the School of Natural 'One rarely finds a system with both rings and spiral arms in a configuration that almost perfectly fits the predictions of how a forming planet is supposed to shape its parent disk according to theoretical models. "Detections like this bring us one step closer to understand how planets form in general and how our solar system might have formed in the distant past.' Most read in The Irish Sun The study has been published in the international journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Based on their research findings, Dr Ginski and his team have secured time at the world-leading James Webb Space Telescope observatory in the upcoming observation cycle. First-ever orbital rocket launched from Europe crashes to the ground and explodes moments after take off from Norway Using the sensitivity of the James Webb Space Telescope, the team hopes to be able to take an actual image of the young planet. If planets in the disk are confirmed, it will become a prime laboratory for the study of planet-disk interaction. The wider research team included astronomers in the UK, Germany, Australia, USA, Netherlands, Italy, Chile, France and Japan. 1 An international team of astronomers led by University of Galway has discovered the likely site of a new planet in formation
RTÉ News
09-06-2025
- Science
- RTÉ News
Watch this space: Irish astronomers may have found evolving planet
An international team of astronomers, led by University of Galway, has discovered the likely site of a new planet in formation. It is most likely a giant gas planet up to a few times the mass of Jupiter. Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) in Chile, the researchers captured images around a distant young star for the first time in the form of scattered near-infrared light that revealed an exceptionally structured disk. The study was led by Dr Christian Ginski from the Centre for Astronomy in the School of Natural Sciences at University of Galway and was co-authored by four postgraduate students at the university. The disk extends out to 130 astronomical units from its parent star - the equivalent to 130 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. It shows a bright ring followed by a gap centered at roughly 50 astronomical units. For comparison, the outermost planet in our solar system, Neptune, has an orbital distance from the Sun of 30 astronomical units. Inside the disk gap, reminiscent of the outskirts of a hurricane on Earth, a system of spiral arms are visible. While appearing tiny in the image, the inner part of the planet-forming system measures 40 astronomical units in radius and would swallow all of the planets in our own solar system. Dr Ginski said: "While our team has now observed close to 100 possible planet-forming disks around nearby stars, this image is something special. "One rarely finds a system with both rings and spiral arms in a configuration that almost perfectly fits the predictions of how a forming planet is supposed to shape its parent disk according to theoretical models. "Detections like this bring us one step closer to understand how planets form in general and how our solar system might have formed in the distant past." Based on their research findings, Dr Ginski and his team have secured time at the world leading James Webb Space Telescope observatory in the upcoming observation cycle. Using the sensitivity of the James Webb Telescope, the team hopes to be able to take an actual image of the young planet. If planets in the disk are confirmed, it will become a prime laboratory for the study of planet-disk interaction. The wider research team included astronomers in the UK, Germany, Australia, USA, Netherlands, Italy, Chile, France and Japan.
Irish Examiner
09-06-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Possible new 'gas giant' planet discovered by team led by Galway scientists
An international research team, led by astronomers from the University of Galway, have discovered the likely site of a new 'gas giant' planet. The new potential planet, which the team says is up to several times the mass of Jupiter, was discovered using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. The team captured images around a distant young star, revealing a 'new planet-forming disk' for the first time. The study was published on Monday in the international journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. It was led by Dr Christian Ginski from the Centre for Astronomy in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Galway. It was co-authored by four postgraduate students at the university: Chloe Lawlor, Jake Byrne, Dan McLachlan and Matthew Murphy. The disk extends out to 130 astronomical units from its parent star (roughly 130 times the distance between Earth and the Sun) and shows a bright ring followed by a gap centred at roughly 50 astronomical units. Inside the gap, reminiscent of the outskirts of a hurricane on Earth, a system of spiral arms are visible. Dr Ginski called the image 'something special'. He added: "Detections like this bring us one step closer to understand how planets form in general and how our solar system might have formed in the distant past.' The paper's research team also included colleagues in the UK, Germany, Australia, USA, Netherlands, Italy, Chile, France and Japan. Based on their research findings, Dr Ginski and his team have secured time at the world-leading James Webb Space Telescope observatory in the upcoming observation cycle. Using the unprecedented sensitivity of the James Webb Telescope, the team hopes to be able to take an actual image of the young planet. If planets in the disk are confirmed, it will become a prime laboratory for the study of planet-disk interaction. Read More How Cork got a science centre and space observatory in a 16th-century castle
