Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have completed the largest and most sensitive visible-light imaging survey of dusty debris disks around other stars. These dusty disks, likely created by collisions between leftover objects from planet formation, were imaged around stars as young as 10 million years old and as mature as more than 1 billion years old.
Once thought to be simply pancake-like structures, the unexpected diversity and complexity of these dusty debris structures strongly suggest they are being gravitationally affected by unseen planets orbiting the star. Alternatively, these effects could result from the stars’ passing through interstellar space.
Please join +Tony Darnell Dr +Carol Christian and +Scott Lewis as we talk with the Principal Investigators of this exciting discovery.
Bring your questions and comments and we’ll read them on air throughout the hangout!
Read more here:
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2014/44/
*Special Note*
Our own Dr. +Jason Kalirai has been nominated for a Listener Choice Award for an audio segment on Exploring Exoplanets released last July.
Please show your support for the #JWST mission by listening to his segment here
Jason Kalirai, Johns Hopkins University – Exploring Exoplanets
and voting here:
http://academicminute.org/2014/11/listener_choice_award/