Gas Giant Formation Caught in the Act

Illustration of the disc and gas streams around young star HD 142527. Saturn and Jupiter are examples of gas giants---huge, uninhabitable planets composed of gas rather than solid matter. Based on observations of these planets and models of their evolution, astronomers have long believed [pdf] that they form by guzzling gas from young stars. This week, courtesy of a telescope in the deserts of Chile, astronomers reported seeing the first direct evidence of gas giant formation. Astronomers were observing a young star called HD 142527, some 450 light years from Earth. Like most young stars, HD 142527 is surrounded by a disk of gas and dust---remnants of the star's conception that continue to circle the star for millions of years. But there was something strange about this particular star's disk. Astronomers observed a large gap in the gas and dust, which, as reported in Nature this week, they believe is ...