Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Pakistani army: 6 soldiers and 7 militants killed in clash near the Afghan border
Israeli media: Sirens sound in the settlement of Kerem Shalom in the Gaza envelope area
Afghan source to Al Mayadeen: We still believe in dialogue and prioritize diplomatic solutions with Pakistan; though we are ready for all possibilities.
Afghan source to Al Mayadeen: Pakistan purposely obstructed negotiations in Turkey by making unrealistic demands.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: More than 70 martyrs in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn.
Death toll from latest Israeli strikes on Gaza rises to 30
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Five killed in the Israeli bombing of a civilian vehicle on Al-Qassam Street in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip
Hamas confirms that it has no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah and affirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two civilians were killed and four others, including a child and an infant, were injured in an Israeli bombing of a house belonging to the Al-Banna family in the al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli airstrike targets the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City

Giant planet 9 times mass of Jupiter still "in the womb"

  • By Al Mayadeen net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 5 Apr 2022 10:05
4 Min Read

Observers think that AB Aurigae b is at the earliest stage of development ever witnessed for a gas giant, and that it is not developing in the typical way that planets do.

  • x
  • Giant planet nine times mass of Jupiter still
    An illustration shows a newly forming exoplanet, AB Aurigae b. (NASA, Reuters)

In a finding that contradicts existing understanding of planetary formation, scientists have detected a massive planet approximately nine times the mass of Jupiter at a relatively early stage of creation - characterizing it as "still in the womb."

The Subaru telescope, located at the top of an extinct Hawaiian volcano, and the Hubble space telescope in orbit were used to find and examine AB Aurigae b, a gas giant orbiting extremely distant from its youthful host star. Gas giants, like our solar system's biggest planets Jupiter and Saturn, are comprised primarily of hydrogen and helium, with whirling gases around a tiny solid core.

It is buried in a vast disk of gas and dust that contains the material that makes planets and orbits a star known as AB Aurigae. It is about 508 light-years away from Earth. This star's picture appears in a scene in the 2021 film Don't Look Up, giving it a brief moment of fame.

Astrophysicist Thayne Currie of the Subaru Telescope and the NASA-Ames research center, stated that  it may still be very early on in its "birthing process." According to the astrophysicist, “Evidence suggests that this is the earliest stage of formation ever observed for a gas giant.”

Exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, number around 5,000. This is one of the biggest. It is getting close to the maximum size for classification as a planet rather than a brown dwarf, an entity halfway between a planet and a star. It's heated by gas and dust that falls into it.

Only one other star has been seen to contain planets in the process of development, known as protoplanets.

Related News

Webb Telescope detects possible signs of life beyond solar system

By sheer accident, a new planet discovered

Almost all known exoplanets circle their stars within the space between our solar and its most distant planet, Neptune. However, this planet circles the sun three times as far as Neptune and 93 times as distant as Earth. Its creation appears to be distinct from the usual planetary formation hypothesis.

Astronomer and study co-author Olivier Guyon of the Subaru telescope and the University of Arizona has said that “The conventional thinking is that most – if not all – planets form by slow accretion of solids onto a rocky core, and that gas giants go through this phase before the solid core is massive enough to start accreting gas."

In this scenario, protoplanets contained in the disk encircling a young star progressively evolve from dust- to boulder-sized solid objects, and if this core reaches several times the mass of Earth, it begins to accumulate gas from the disk.

“This process cannot form giant planets at large orbital distance, so this discovery challenges our understanding of planet formation,”according to Guyon.

Researchers speculate that AB Aurigae b is formed under a scenario in which the disk surrounding the star cools and gravity drives it to split into one or more large clumps that create planets.

“There’s more than one way to cook an egg,” Currie said. “And apparently there may be more than one way to form a Jupiter-like planet.“

The star AB Aurigae is almost 2.4 times the mass of our sun and over 60 times brighter. It is roughly 2 million years old — a baby by stellar standards – compared to our middle-aged sun, which is about 4.5 billion years old. Early in its life, the sun was also encircled by a disk, which gave rise to Earth and the other planets.

“New astronomical observations continuously challenge our current theories, ultimately improving our understanding of the universe,” Guyon said. “Planet formation is very complex and messy, with many surprises still ahead.”

  • exoplanet
  • Earth
  • Jupiter
  • Space

Most Read

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

  • Technology
  • 24 Oct 2025
Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

  • Africa
  • 23 Oct 2025
What Marr evidently didn't seem to understand was that Hedges isn't saying that Western journalists manipulate the truth, but that they systematically amplify Israeli narratives they know are false. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Western journalists know they have a case to answer for their betrayal of Gaza, and it frightens them

  • Opinion
  • 24 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), rest near the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region (AP)
Politics

UAE directly funded RSF, leading to fall of El-Fasher: Sudan

'You’re not welcome in Greece': Israelis face port protests
Politics

'You’re not welcome in Greece': Israelis face port protests

This photo released by the Israeli military on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, shows ground operations inside the Gaza Strip (AP)
Politics

IOF soldier who fought in Gaza, Lebanon denied entry to Czech Republic

UN inquiry exposes 'Israel’s' four genocidal crimes against Gaza
Politics

'Israel' committed four genocidal acts in Gaza, UN inquiry finds

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS