Space - Oph 163131: planet formation captured in a massive disk
Space · 0:39
Spanning 66 billion kilometres across, the protoplanetary disc Oph 163131 is several times wider than our Solar System. Located 480 light-years away in Ophiuchus, this system appears nearly edge-on at an 85-degree tilt. Observations combining Webb, Hubble, and ALMA reveal that millimetre-sized dust grains have settled into a central plane featuring two rings separated by a gap. This gap marks a potential zone where a new planet is currently forming and clearing away dust.
Source: ESA/Webb
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