Study of a protoplanetary disk about 400 light-years from earth yields clues to the development of exoplanets. For the first time, scientists were able to use a technique called "light echo" to analyze the distance between the disk and the young star at its center.
A NASA illustration depicts a star that is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk composed of gas and dust. The disk is made up of material that is caught up in the gravitational force of a young star. Over millions of years, the protoplanetary disk will eventually evolve into clusters of material which will form planets.
Huan Meng is a post-doctoral research associates at the University of Arizona, and is the first author of the study that was recently published in the Astrophysical Journal. He is quoted in a NASA-JPL release.
"Understanding protoplanetary disks can help us understand some of the mysteries about exoplanets, the planets in solar systems outside our own."