Massive circumstellar disks accrete faster than low-mass ones
Do predictions from classical disk theory work with state-of-the-art measurements?
Observing an Exo-Kuiper Belt
The authors of today’s paper wanted to use the best available instruments to image HR 8799’s outer debris disk, and look for whether “planet b” appears to have cleared out the disk, in the same way Neptune did for the Kuiper Belt.
Where to Look for Baby Planets
Baby planets still living in their natal disks don’t want astronomers to find and take pictures of them. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try!
The bouncing barrier of silicates and ices
Planets are km-size bodies, but it is particularly puzzling how solid grains have grown to sizes beyond cm to m. Water ices can improve the sticking of such grains, but does this imply that ices from other molecules improve the sticking as well?
Disk Destruction in the Trapezium
Sherlocks Holmes investigates the scene of a crime for clues about whodunit. Today’s paper investigates the massacre of circumstellar disks in a star cluster for clues about the cluster itself.
An Overview of the Extreme Solar Systems III Conference
The third Extreme Solar System conference was held between Nov 29 to Dec 4th, in Kona, Hawaii, on the 20th anniversary of the first exoplanet detection around a main sequence star. This astrobite gives a brief overview of the conference.