Huge extraterrestrial planets detected for the very first time around baby star

In a discovery that raises questions about conventional wisdom about the formation of planets, astronomers have detected several huge planets orbiting a young star – in this case, CI Tau, a star aged 2 millions of years to about 500 light-years away. in the constellation of Taurus.

This is the first time that several giant gaseous planets revolve around a "toddler" star. Our galaxy of the Milky Way is filled with stars that have existed for billions of years. our sun is about 4.5 billion years old.

It is also the first time that such extreme variation is observed in the orbits of planets within a star system. Astronomers have discovered that the outermost of the known planets of CI Tau gravitates around a distance 1000 times greater than the orbit of its innermost planet, called "hot Jupiter" because of its size and size. its narrow orbit around its host star.

Jupiter from CI Tau, known as CI Tau B, was first observed in 2016 with the help of the ALMA radio telescope in Chile. But when the international team of astronomers used ALMA to take a fresh look at the CI Tau in the fall of 2017, she detected three gaps in the protoplanetary disk of the star: the vast swirling cloud of ice and dust that surrounds it. The gaps are considered strong evidence of the presence of three other gaseous giant planets around CI Tau.

The discovery led astronomers to question existing ideas about the time needed to form large planets.

"This tells us that giant planets must form rapidly in the protoplanetary disk – which contrasts with the most common model of planet formation, which involves slow growth of a solid nucleus followed by the first one. gas accumulation on it to form a giant gas planet. "Farzana Meru, an astrophysicist at the University of Warwick in England and co-author of an article on research, told NBC News MACH in an email.

Cathie Clarke, a Cambridge University astronomer and senior author of the newspaper, said in an email that it was unclear how systems such as CI Tau are common. But she added that research shows that "planetary systems are even more diverse than we thought," adding that the last two decades of exoplanetary discoveries "have repeatedly shown us that" it was necessary to have a planetary system. adjust our theories in the light of new data ".

New ideas about planet formation could lead to new ideas about the origins of life.

"You want to know how planets are formed because it's the source of life in the universe," said Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, who n & # 39; 39, did not participate in the new research. In light of this new discovery, she added, "the path to life in the universe" may be more varied than we thought.

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