I wrote an article on the formation of the solar system and other planetary systems throughout the galaxy a few weeks ago. New information is coming to light all the time and this is a field that has a lot of discoveries left to find.
The new discoveries were published in the astrophysical Journal. Astronomers know already how the stars are formed in the protoplanetary discs but this team want to find out how the material actually accretes onto the star.
There are two ways that material can be acquired by the star-
• The gas around the star is swallowed by the star as it comes up in contact with it.
• The Second more violent scenario is that the magnetic fields from the star prevent the material contacting the star but allow the material to go along the magnetic lines which makes them superheated and ionised.
These discoveries showed that in most cases the gas converts some of its kinetic energy into light very close to the stars which shows that the stars could be following the second more violent scenario.
But in other cases there was evidence of winds launched into space with material accreting onto the star.
The next step is to look for organic molecules and water in the protoplanetary discs which would show the protoplanetary discs that may harbour life.
Infant Solar System
