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               Astronomers Find Possible Protoplanet Being Formed

   by VOA News

   An international team led by Swiss astronomer Sascha Quanz has made
   what could be the first direct observation of a planet in the process
   of being formed. It is still embedded in a thick disc of gas and dust
   encircling a relatively nearby young star - only about 335 light years
   from Earth.
   The scientists expect that as the protoplanet continues to gather
   material from the disc over millions of years, it will develop into a
   gas giant similar to the planet Jupiter in our solar system.
   ESO/L. Calçada video: flying through the HD100546 system
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   Quanz notes that until now, computer simulations were the only way to
   study planet formation. But using the advanced optics of the European
   Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and new image analysis
   techniques, astronomers were able to see a faint blob in the
   circumstellar disc. If his team's finding is confirmed, astronomers
   would be able to test their theories against an observable target.
   Although a protoplanet is the most likely explanation for the
   observations, the results of this study require follow-up observations
   to rule out other possibilities and confirm the existence of the
   planet.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/astronomers-find-possible-protoplanet
   -being-formed/1612515.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/astronomers-find-possible-protoplanet-being-formed/1612515.html