Mystery unraveled of stellar flare so powerful it’s ‘evaporating’ a planet nearby
The IndependentSign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, sheds more light on the formation of stars and also suggests such giant flares in developing solar systems may lead to a dozen planet elimination events. Previous observations provided tantalizing hints of a young massive planet orbiting this star very close,” study co-author Sergei Nayakshin said. Scientists simulated a gas giant planet formed far out in the disc by gravitational instability in which a massive disc breaks apart to make huge clumps more massive than Jupiter, but far less dense. “While FU Ori events are extreme compared to normal young stars, from the duration and observability of such events, observers concluded that most emerging solar systems flare up like this a dozen or so times while the protoplanetary disc is around,” Dr Elbakyan said.
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