Young Stars Surrounded by "Hula Hoops" of Debris Discovered
By Tamarra Kemsley
In this artist's impression, a disk of dusty material leftover from star formation girds two young stars like a hula hoop. As the two stars whirl around each other, they periodically peek out from the disk, making the system appear to "blink" every 93 days. (Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a young star system that appears to be two developing stars surrounded by disks of star-formation residue. The stars, those who discovered say, are caught in a game of cosmic peek-a-boo while a third orbits at the periphery.
Called YLW 16A, the system "blinks" every 93 days as the two inner stars whirl around each other, periodically popping out from the disk that girds them like a hula hoop. Moreover, this disk, the scientists determined, is misaligned -- probably due to the disruptive gravitation of the third star -- and is likely to go on to spawn planets and other celestial bodies that make up a solar system.
As the fourth example of a star system known to blink in such a manner, and the second spotted in the same star-forming region Rho Ophiuchus, YLW 16A is evidence these systems might be more common than once thought, the researchers explain in their analysis of the finding.
Furthermore, blinking star systems with warped disks offer scientists a way to study how planets form in these environments. In a binary star system, it's possible for the planets to orbit one or both of the stars -- much like the famous fictional planet Tatooine in "Star Wars" with its double sunsets. Such worlds are referred to as circumbinary planets, and because astronomers can record how light is absorbed by planet-forming disks during the bright and faint phases of blinking stellar systems, they offer a unique look into the information regarding the materials that comprise the disk.
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http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3302/20130802/young-stars-surrounded-hula-hoops-discovered.htm