AI Insight
Astronomers using ALMA have observed a trillion-mile-long gas streamer feeding the young triple-star system GW Orionis. This discovery provides the strongest evidence to date that such gas streamers can cause the tilting and twisting of planet-forming disks around multiple star systems. The observations help explain the unusual geometry of the outer disk surrounding this triple-star system.
Why it matters
This finding advances our understanding of planet formation in complex stellar environments, particularly around multiple-star systems which are common in our galaxy. The research demonstrates how the feeding process of young stars can directly affect the architecture of planetary systems, potentially influencing the types and orbits of planets that form.
Understand the Science
A team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has captured a massive stream of gas—one trillion miles, or 0.2 light-years, long—feeding the young triple-star system GW Orionis. These new observations provide the clearest evidence yet for how such “streamers” can tilt and twist the disks where planets are born. The findings are published in The Astronomical Journal.
Source: Trillion-mile gas streamer may explain tilt of triple-star system's outer planet-forming ring