The formation of what could be a new class of planetary system has been observed by an international team of astronomers.The team, which reported their findings at the most recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society, used powerful telescopes to examine Mira, a binary star system about 350 light years away. They observed material from the dying red giant, Mira A, being siphoned off and captured in a disc around its smaller companion, Mira B – the first step in the creation of a planetary system.
The findings are particularly exciting, said the researchers, as astronomers have traditionally assumed that the dusty discs where planets form are only found around young stars in 'stellar nurseries'. This is the first time that a ‘protoplanetary disc’ has been found in the environment of a dying star.
Link & Image: Cosmos Magazine
Tags: Mira | Dying Star | Planets
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