Birth of a Planet
Artist's conception: Planets sweep away a clearing in mass of dust surrounding a fledgling star. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Astronomers at the University have found evidence for what could be the youngest planet ever detected-a world no more than a million years old circling a distant star. The discovery came from data collected by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the critical infrared "eyes" of which were designed in part by physics and astronomy professors Judith Pipher, William Forrest, and Dan Watson.
The planet was discovered circling CoKu Tau 4, a million-year-old star in the constellation Taurus, 420 light-years from Earth. The planet cannot be seen directly, but the telescope clearly showed that an area of dust in the disk was missing, strongly suggesting the presence of a planet.
These microscopic dust particles coated with water, methanol, and carbon dioxide ices may help explain the origin of icy planetoids like comets. Scientists believe these comets may have endowed Earth with some of its water and many of its biogenic, life-enabling materials.
