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Spontaneous 'dust traps:' Astronomers discover a missing link in planet formation

Planets are thought to form in the disks of dust and gas found around young stars. But astronomers have struggled to assemble a complete theory of their origin that explains how the initial dust develops into planetary systems. A French-UK-Australian team now think they have the answer, with their simulations showing the formation of ‘dust traps’ where pebble-sized fragments collect and stick together, to grow into the building blocks of planets. They publish their results in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Our Solar system, and other planetary systems, began life with disks of gas and dust grains around a young star. The processes that convert these tiny grains, each a few millionths of a metre (a micron) across, into aggregates a few centimetres in size, and the mechanism for making kilometre-sized 'planetesimals’ into planetary cores, are both well understood.

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harkonnen ornithopter sketches inspired by artofthera https://www.artstation.com/artwork/QWOJr

“Faerie Winter” by Nicolas Le Boulanger

ART: “Cargo X3″ by William Nunez

Rolling Skies

(sources)

A Visualisation of the Recent Rapid Change in Temperature.

(GreenPeace)

Solar System: Things to Know This Week

Celebrate with us as our Opportunity rover turns 13, view art from our fans and more!

1. All Grown Up

After exceeding her 90-day mission and design parameters many times over, our plucky little rover Opportunity turns 13 years old on the Red Planet. She’s officially a teenager!

2. People’s Space

The public contributes so much wonderful art that we decided to make a place to share it. Enjoy!

3. Ready for a Close Up

Our Juno spacecraft recently got a closer look at Jupiter’s Little Red Spot. The craft’s JunoCam imager snapped this shot of Jupiter’s northern latitudes on December 2016, as the spacecraft performed a close flyby of the gas giant. The spacecraft was at an altitude of 10,300 miles above Jupiter’s cloud tops.

4. A New Test for Life on Other Planets 

A simple chemistry method could vastly enhance how scientists search for signs of life on other planets. The test uses a liquid-based technique known as capillary electrophoresis to separate a mixture of organic molecules into its components. It was designed specifically to analyze for amino acids, the structural building blocks of all life on Earth.

5. Blurring the Line Between Asteroid and Comet  

Our NEOWISE mission recently discovered some celestial objects traveling through our neighborhood, including one on the blurry line between asteroid and comet. An object called 2016 WF9 was detected by the NEOWISE project in November 2016 and it’s in an orbit that takes it on a scenic tour of our solar system. A different object, discovered by NEOWISE a month earlier, is more clearly a comet, releasing dust as it nears the sun.

Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

ART: “Hangar 8″ by Albert Ramon Puig