Astronomers using the VLBA have produced the first-ever full, 3-D view of binary star system with a planet orbiting one of the stars. Their achievement promises important new insights into the process of planet formation.
Astronomers Find Elusive Target Hiding Behind Dust
Some young, still-forming stars are surrounded by regions of complex organic molecules called “hot corinos.” In some pairs of young stars forming together as binary pairs, astronomers found a hot corino around one, but not the other. Guessing that the unseen one might be obscured by dust, researchers studied such a pair with the VLA at radio wavelengths that readily pass through dust, and found the other one.
Astronomers Study Mysterious New Type of Cosmic Blast
Astronomers have studied a perplexing cosmic blast with a worldwide collection of telescopes, including ALMA and the VLA, but still are not sure exactly what it is.
VLA Discovers Powerful Jet Coming from “Wrong” Kind of Star
The VLA’s discovery of a jet of material launched from a highly-magnetic neutron star has forced rethinking a longstanding theory.
Trio of Infant Planets Discovered around Newborn Star
Two independent teams of astronomers have uncovered convincing evidence that three young planets are in orbit around an infant star known as HD 163296. Using a new planet-finding strategy, the astronomers identified three discrete disturbances in a young star’s gas-filled disk: the strongest evidence yet that newly formed planets are in orbit there.