NASA | Spiral Arms Point to Possible Planets in a Star's Dusty Disk

Simulations of young stellar systems suggest that planets embedded in a circumstellar disk can produce many distinctive structures, including rings, gaps and spiral arms. This video compares computer simulations of hypothetical systems to the Subaru image of SAO 206462. A new image of the disk of gas and dust around a sun-like star is the first to show spiral-arm-like structures. These features may provide clues to the presence of embedded but as-yet-unseen planets. The newly imaged disk surrounds SAO 206462, an 8.7-magnitude star located about 456 light-years away in the constellation Lupus. Astronomers estimate that the system is only about 9 million years old. The gas-rich disk spans some 14 billion miles, which is more than twice the size of Pluto's orbit in our own solar system. The Subaru near-infrared image reveals a pair of spiral features arcing along the outer disk. Theoretical models show that a single embedded planet may produce a spiral arm on each side of a disk. The structures around SAO 206462 do not form a matched pair, suggesting the presence of two unseen worlds, one for each arm. This video is public domain and can be downloaded at: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov Like our videos? Subscribe to NASA's Goddard Shorts HD podcast: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov Or find NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on Facebook: www.facebook.com Or find us on Twitter: twitter.com

Text version can be found at www.aSoberMind.com. Ambion Theory by Scott Van Der Sluys explains how gravity, magnetism and electromagnetic radiation work, with some insight into the physics of our universe from solar systems to black holes.
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