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Exoplanets

Image Gallery : Exoplanets

Planets that orbit a star other than our Sun. As of early 2021 there are more than 4,000 confirmed exoplanets.

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Vimeo Thumbnail for Baseline #11 – Finding Planets That Have No Star

Baseline #11 – Finding Planets That Have No Starmore_horiz

Illustration shows how the star's motion around the center of mass between it and the planet causes a "wobble" in its motion through space. The VLBA's ability to detect this minuscule effect revealed the presence of the planet.

3D Model of VLBA Discovery – Exoplanetmore_horiz

Vimeo Thumbnail for The Baseline 9: How Do Exoplanets Form? Mind The Gaps!

The Baseline 9: How Do Exoplanets Form? Mind The Gaps!more_horiz

a bright blue young star with a cloud of cold gas surrounding it

Hydrogen Cyanide in HD 163296more_horiz

Elias 2-27 is a young star located just 378 light-years from Earth. The star is host to a massive protoplanetary disk of gas and dust, one of the key elements to planet formation. In this graphic illustration, dust is distributed along a spiral-shaped morphology first discovered in Elias 2-27 in 2016. The larger dust grains are found along the spiral arms while the smaller dust grains are distributed all around the protoplanetary disk. Asymmetric inflows of gas were also detected during the study, indicating that there may still be material infalling into the disk. Scientists believe that Elias 2-27 may eventually evolve into a planetary system, with gravitational instabilities causing the formation of giant planets. Because this process takes millions of years to occur, scientists can only observe the beginning stages.

Why Are Gravitational Instabilities Important?more_horiz

Using gas velocity data, scientists observing Elias 2-27 were able to directly measure the mass of the young star’s protoplanetary disk and also trace dynamical perturbations in the star system. Visible in this animation are the dust continuum 0.87mm emission data (blue), along with emissions from gases C18O (yellow) and 13CO (red).

Young Star Elias 2-27 Gas Velocity Emissionsmore_horiz

Vimeo Thumbnail for NRAO’s Baseline Episode 1: Trio of Infant Planets Discovered around Newborn Star

NRAO’s Baseline Episode 1: Trio of Infant Planets Discovered around Newborn Starmore_horiz

Illustration shows how the star's motion around the center of mass between it and the planet causes a "wobble" in its motion through space. The VLBA's ability to detect this minuscule effect revealed the presence of the planet.

VLBA Finds Planet Orbiting Small, Cool Starmore_horiz

ALMA images of the planet-forming disk with misaligned rings around triple star system GW Orionis. The image on the right is made with ALMA data taken in 2017 from Bi et al. The image on the left is made with ALMA data taken in 2018 from Kraus et al.

ALMA images of triple star system GW Orionismore_horiz

Artist impression of a double sunset on a 'Tatooine' exoplanet forming in a circumbinary disk that is misaligned with the orbits of its binary stars.

Double Sunset on a ‘Tatooine’ Exoplanetmore_horiz

Alma red dwarf star

Powerful Flare from Star Proxima Centauri Detected with ALMAmore_horiz

Showing images 1 - 11 of 11

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