Write a comment
Jupiter-sized planets can be stolen or captured by massive stars in the densely populated stellar nurseries where most stars are born, a new study has found.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield have proposed a novel explanation for the recently discovered B-star Exoplanet Abundance STudy (BEAST) planets. These are Jupiter-like planets at large distances (hundreds of times the dist Jupiter-sized planets can be stolen or captured by massive stars in the densely populated stellar nurseries where most stars are born, a new study has found.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield have proposed a novel explanation for the recently discovered B-star Exoplanet Abundance STudy (BEAST) planets. These are Jupiter-like planets at large distances (hundreds of times the distance between the Earth and the Sun) from massive stars.
Until now their formation has been something of a mystery, as massive stars emit large amounts of ultraviolet radiation that stops planets from growing to the size of Jupiter - the largest planet in our solar system.
Dr Emma Daffern-Powell, Co-author of the study, from the University of Sheffield's Department of Physicsand Astronomy added: "Our previous research has shown that in stellar nurseries stars can steal planets from other stars, or capture what we call 'free-floating' planets. We know that massive stars have more influence in these nurseries than Sun-like stars, and we found that these massive stars can capture or steal planets - which we call 'BEASTies'.
"Essentially, this is a planetary heist. We used computer simulations to show that the theft or capture of these BEASTies occurs on average once in the first 10 million years of the evolution of a star-forming region."
Dr Richard Parker, Lecturer in Astrophysics in the University of Sheffield's Department of Physics and Astronomy explains: "The BEAST planets are a new addition to the myriad of exoplanetary systems, which display incredible diversity, from planetary systems around Sun-like stars that are very different to our Solar System, to planets orbiting evolved or dead stars
"The BEAST collaboration has discovered at least two super-Jovian planets orbiting massive stars. Whilst planets can form around massive stars, it is hard to envisage gas giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn being able to form in such hostile environments, where radiation from the stars can evaporate the planets before they fully form.
"However, our simulations show that these planets can be captured or stolen, on orbits very similar to those observed for the BEASTies. Our results lend further credence to the idea that planets on more distant orbits (more than 100 times the distance from Earth to Sun) may not be orbiting their parent star."
The research was conducted by Dr Richard Parker and Dr Emma Daffern-Powell at the University of Sheffield and is part of a larger research programme which aims to establish how common planetary systems like our own are in the context of the many thousands of other planetary systems in the Milky Way galaxy.
Research Report:Making BEASTies: dynamical formation of planetary systems around massive stars
Related Links
University of Sheffield
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth
|
| Tweet |
| Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution. | ||
| SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly |  | SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once credit card or paypal |
Webb takes its first exoplanet image
Paris (ESA) Sep 02, 2022
For the first time, astronomers have used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of an exoplanet. The exoplanet is a gas giant, meaning it has no rocky surface and could not be habitable. The image, as seen through four different light filters, shows how Webb's powerful infrared gaze can easily capture worlds beyond our Solar System, pointing the way to future observations that will reveal more information than ever before about exoplanets. The exoplanet in Webb's image ... read more