From the birth of new celestial life in the cosmos, scientists may have gained a glimpse into the mysteries behind the creation of certain planets.
Star-gazing astronomers believe that, from the observations of a newborn star called HD 142527, they have gained a new perspective as to how "gas giant" planets are born.
Within the solar system, two such gas-heavy planets exist--Jupiter and Saturn--whose makeup is less made of solid material, as found on Earth, and comprised more from gases.
Scientists using the Chilean-based Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array, or ALMA, telescope, have studied the star, which is roughly 450 light years from Earth, and have theorized that gaseous planets are created by gathering gas and dust that circle around new stars.
According to preexisting research, scientists have determined that such gas and dust surrounds newborn starts and sticks with them for millions of years afterwards.
"Astronomers have been predicting that these streams must exist, but this is the first time we've been able to see them directly," University of Chile astronomer Simon Casassus, who led the study, told the Science Recorder. "The planets grow by capturing some of the gas from the outer disc, but they are really messy eaters. The rest of it overshoots and feeds into the inner disc around the star."
In studying the star, the findings of which will be appearing in the science journal "Nature," astronomers found that there was a chunk of missing debris around the new star.
From this, they believe that gas giants may be stealing gas and dust from the baby star's "dust disks" and building to the point where they evolve into giant planets.
Planetary scientist Alan Boss, author of "The Crowded Universe: The Race to Find Life Beyond Earth," was particularly excited about the study, calling it "great stuff" in an email to USA Today.
"Astronomers and theorists have been waiting for decades for ALMA to be built and begin operations, and this early discovery shows that the wait has been well worthwhile," Boss said.