Credit: © Jenry A three-ringed structure in the planet-forming zone of a circumstellar disk where metals and minerals serve as a reservoir of planetary building blocks.A research study group, consisting of astronomers of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), found a three-ringed structure in the nursery of planets in the inner planet-forming disk of a young star. By studying the present state of our home world and other objects in the Solar System, scientists have developed a detailed picture of the conditions when they evolved from a disk made of dust and gas surrounding the infant sun some 4.5 billion years ago.Three Rings Hinting at Two PlanetsWith the breathtaking progress made in star and world formation research study aiming at far-away celestial things, we can now investigate the conditions in environments around young stars and compare them to the ones derived for the early Solar System. “We believe that the HD 144432 disk may be really similar to the early Solar System that supplied lots of iron to the rocky worlds we understand today,” says van Boekel. “By looking at the inner areas of protoplanetary disks around stars, we aim to check out the origin of the different minerals contained in the disk– minerals that later on will form the strong elements of planets like the Earth,” says Thomas Henning, MPIA director and co-PI of the MATISSE instrument.However, producing images with an interferometer like the ones we are utilized to acquiring from single telescopes is extremely lengthy and not simple. Eventually, the astronomers may be able to clarify whether worlds commonly form in iron-rich dirty disks close to their parent stars.Reference: “Mid-infrared evidence for iron-rich dust in the multi-ringed inner disk of HD 144432” by J. Varga, L. B. F. M. Waters, M. Hogerheijde, R. van Boekel, A. Matter, B. Lopez, K. Perraut, L. Chen, D. Nadella, S. Wolf, C. Dominik, Á.
Credit: © Jenry A three-ringed structure in the planet-forming zone of a circumstellar disk where metals and minerals serve as a tank of planetary structure blocks.A research study team, including astronomers of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), discovered a three-ringed structure in the nursery of planets in the inner planet-forming disk of a young star. “By looking at the inner regions of protoplanetary disks around stars, we aim to check out the origin of the various minerals contained in the disk– minerals that later on will form the solid elements of worlds like the Earth,” says Thomas Henning, MPIA director and co-PI of the MATISSE instrument.However, producing images with an interferometer like the ones we are utilized to acquiring from single telescopes is very time-consuming and not uncomplicated. Ultimately, the astronomers may be able to clarify whether planets typically form in iron-rich dusty disks close to their parent stars.Reference: “Mid-infrared evidence for iron-rich dust in the multi-ringed inner disk of HD 144432” by J. Varga, L. B. F. M. Waters, M. Hogerheijde, R. van Boekel, A. Matter, B. Lopez, K. Perraut, L. Chen, D. Nadella, S. Wolf, C. Dominik, Á.