Thursday, October 20, 2011

Images Of Planet Forming


Tim Sayell sends in an article from Yahoo News that says "Astronomers have captured the first direct image of a planet being born." Now if that isn't exciting enough...."it's the youngest planet ever observed. The previous record holder was about five times older." Adam Kraus, of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, along with Michael Ireland from Macquarie University and the Australian Astronomical Observatory, Using the Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea, said that the planet is forming from a ring of dust and debris circling a 2-milion-year-old star about 450 light years from Earth.

Just two million years old? I would have put planetary formation would take place at a minimum of three times that long!

The complete Yahoo News article is here and it is very informative


oooooooooooooohhhh Lookie what Dave Tackett found!!!! From the Huffington Post the actual telescope's photo! Thanks Dave!





1 comment:

Dave Tackett said...

Amazing. This is the kind of stuff that should be getting headlines instead of the trial of a certain late singer's doctor. Found the actual images (along with the artist's conception that was at the Yahoo article) at The Huffington Post's Tech Section.