5. Creating the Solar System
Found Year: 2014
Who Discovered It: ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
Where: Taurus
A solar system is emerging, according to data released in 2014 by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an astronomical interferometer comprising 66 radio telescopes situated in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert. Photographs of the very young T Tauri star HL Tauri demonstrate the formation of planets in the protoplanetary disc.
Creating the Solar System Copyright ArtEvent ET/Shutterstock
According to the star’s brightness and effective temperature, HL Tauri is thought to be younger than 100,000 years old. The protoplanetary disc was discovered for the first time in 1975, but the public photographs released in 2014 depict it as a collection of brilliant rings spaced apart by gaps. In the last forty years, the discs have evolved faster than anticipated, raising the possibility that planetary formation is occurring at a faster pace as well.
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