Stellar Dust Disks Crumble
March 31, 2014
Observations show stellar dust disks fragmenting into smaller dust, not growing into planets.
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Weekend Grab Bag
October 14, 2012
Here are links to recent science findings and claims sure to stimulate thinking and further research.
Stellar Dust Disk Vanishes in 3 Years
July 7, 2012
According to widely accepted theory, planets evolve from orbiting dust disks surrounding stars. If so, planets trying to form in the dust around one young star didn't have much time. The disk evaporated within 3 years.
Planet-Makers Ask Miracles to Evade Death Spiral
August 21, 2009
Remember the old artwork of planets gently forming out of dust orbiting a young star? That’s all gone. Reality has set it. Clumps of material a meter across need help – almost miraculous help – to avoid getting sucked into the star in a giant death spiral. If you don’t believe it, ask John Chambers […]
Planet Formation: Just Add Water?
March 19, 2008
The Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence of water in a dust disk around a star. Does this mean we understand how the earth, with all its water, formed? Using the Spitzer infrared instrumentation, John Carr (Naval Research Laboratory) and Joan Najita (National Optical Astronomy Observatory) found spectra of organic molecules and water in […]
Is Making Planets Child’s Play?
December 5, 2007
Are star children good at child's play? Like making mudballs, it should be easy to roll up dust into planets.
Accretion: The Missing Link in Planetary Evolution
February 3, 2004
Every school child has seen artwork of planets evolving from a disk of dust and gas around a star like our sun, but there’s a missing link in the story. How did the dust particles stick together?