Nearby Red Dwarfs May Reveal More about Planet Formation with Dusty Discs

Nearby red dwarves could reveal a bit more about planet formation. Scientists have taken a closer look at a collection of red dwarf stars close to our solar system and found large discs of dust around two of the stars.

The discs of dust are actually tell-tale signs of planets in the process of forming. However, the objects also challenge current theories of planet formation. It suggests that the planet forming process can last a lot longer than previously thought.

"We think the Earth and the other planets formed from discs like these so it is fascinating to see a potential new solar system evolving," said Simon Murphy, lead author of the new study, in a news release. "However, other stars of this age usually don't have discs any more. The red dwarf discs seem to live longer than those of hotter stars like the sun. We don't understand why."

The ability to detect red dwarfs, which are dim, has improved dramatically in recent decades, revealing a wealth of information. In this case, the giveaway that the red dwarves had discs around them was an unusual glow in the infrared spectrum of the stars. Although the discs were not observed directly, such close red dwarves offered a good chance of catching a rare direct glimpse of a disc.

The findings represent a way for astronomers to monitor planet formation. These discs could reveal a bit more about this process, and tell scientists what it must have been like in the early universe and during our own planetary system formation.

The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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