VLT/ALMA: A planet-forming disk beyond our Milky Way - An Astronomical Milestone

[AVAO]

Astronomers just discovered a planet-forming disk beyond our Milky Way for the 1st time — An Astronomical Milestone
www.physics-astronomy.com | 2023 Dez 01

VLT/MUSE (left) show the parent cloud LHA 120-N 180B with HH 1177. ALMA (right) show the rotating disc around the star, similarly with sides moving towards and away from us. Credit: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2311.17217)

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Astronomers have achieved a significant milestone in space exploration by identifying, for the first time, a planet-forming disk around a young star in a galaxy outside our Milky Way.

This remarkable discovery, made in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy located 160,000 light-years away, sheds new light on the universal processes of star and planet formation, akin to those in our own galaxy. The system, known as HH 1177, is nestled within a vast gas cloud in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the largest astronomical project on Earth comprising 66 antennas in Northern Chile, played a crucial role in this discovery. ALMA’s capabilities as a single radio telescope allowed for this unprecedented observation of celestial phenomena.
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Scientific information:
Anna F. McLeod et al. A probable Keplerian disk feeding an optically revealed massive young star, arXiv (2023).

DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2311.17217

TY4YA Jac

[Ann]

Astronomers just discovered a planet-forming disk beyond our Milky Way for the 1st time — An Astronomical Milestone
www.physics-astronomy.com | 2023 Dez 01

VLT/MUSE (left) show the parent cloud LHA 120-N 180B with HH 1177. ALMA (right) show the rotating disc around the star, similarly with sides moving towards and away from us. Credit: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2311.17217)

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Astronomers have achieved a significant milestone in space exploration by identifying, for the first time, a planet-forming disk around a young star in a galaxy outside our Milky Way.

This remarkable discovery, made in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy located 160,000 light-years away, sheds new light on the universal processes of star and planet formation, akin to those in our own galaxy. The system, known as HH 1177, is nestled within a vast gas cloud in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the largest astronomical project on Earth comprising 66 antennas in Northern Chile, played a crucial role in this discovery. ALMA’s capabilities as a single radio telescope allowed for this unprecedented observation of celestial phenomena.
...
more

Scientific information:
Anna F. McLeod et al. A probable Keplerian disk feeding an optically revealed massive young star, arXiv (2023).

DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2311.17217

TY4YA Jac

Very interesting, Jac!

I also find it notable that the massive protostar appears to be fed by a much larger disk of material. But the protoplanetary disk itself is rotating another way than the larger disk.

This reminds me of the rotation of the Solar System vs. the rotation of the Milky Way:

Rotation of the Solar System vs. the rotation of the Milky Way. Image source: South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association, https://www.sfaaa.com/does-the-milky-way-rotate-and-or-revolve-clockwise-or-counterclockwise-by-james-goss

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Ann

[AVAO]

Astronomers just discovered a planet-forming disk beyond our Milky Way for the 1st time — An Astronomical Milestone
www.physics-astronomy.com | 2023 Dez 01

Very interesting, Jac!

I also find it notable that the massive protostar appears to be fed by a much larger disk of material. But the protoplanetary disk itself is rotating another way than the larger disk.

Click to view full size image

Protoplanetary disk in the LMC Anna F McLeod et al.


This reminds me of the rotation of the Solar System vs. the rotation of the Milky Way:

Rotation of the Solar System vs. the rotation of the Milky Way. Image source: South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association, https://www.sfaaa.com/does-the-milky-way-rotate-and-or-revolve-clockwise-or-counterclockwise-by-james-goss

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Ann

ThanX Ann

Interesting comparison.

Jac

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Original data: NASA/ESA (HERSCHEL/ALLWISE)

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Credit: ESA(VLT/MUSE & infill HST)

Click to view full size image

Credit: ESA/NASA (VLT/MUSE & HST)

[Ann]

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Click to view full size image

Looks like the (false color) red and blue structures that I thought were parts of a rotating disk may instead be jets emitted by the protostar!

Ann

[AVAO]

Looks like the (false color) red and blue structures that I thought were parts of a rotating disk may instead be jets emitted by the protostar!

Ann

I think these show the jets, blue directed towards us and red away from us. Emotionally, I would have expected it to be exactly the opposite. And I think that the jets also rotate, but only very, very slowly..

Jac