Birth of Youngest Planet Ever Seen Is Witnessed With Telescopic Trick
Protoplanetary Disk The image at left shows a transitional disk around the star LkCa 15. All of the light at this wavelength is emitted by cold dust in the disk. The hole in the center indicates an inner gap with radius of about 55 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. The image at right shows a expanded view of the cleared region, seen in two wavelengths. The star shape marks the location of LkCa 15, which has been blotted out so the disk can be seen. Kraus & Ireland/via Keck Observatory Astronomers have captured the first direct image of a newly forming planet orbiting around its star, using mirrors to blot out the star's blinding light. The LkCa 15 system contains a hot, coalescing world sitting in a gap between the star and an outer disk of dust, exactly in accord with most theories of how planets...