Astronomers spot 1st moon-forming disk around an alien world

Sort of self-explanatory but remarkable because the pic was taken by a telescope in Chile. If all goes well and the James Webb Space Telescope begins operations at Lagrange Point 2, we’re likely to be able to see the atmospheres of exoplanets nearby. We should be able to determine if they’re life-supporting very soon.

LINK



Our moon is considered to be critical in the origin and maintenance of life on earth because of its role in stabilizing the planet’s tilt. This gives us distinct and predictable seasons. We may soon know how prevalent moons are around earth-sized planets.

quote:

---

Astronomers have discovered the first disk surrounding a planet outside the solar system.

The impressive circumplanetary disk is about 500 times larger than Saturn's rings and encircles a Jupiter-like planet dubbed PDS 70c. Scientists have seen plenty of disks surrounding distant stars, and moon-forming disks around planets like this have been suspected before, but this is the first time such a system has been definitively identified, according to the researchers.

---