Observations from the WM Keck Observatory reveal striking clumps and a wide gap in a dusty disc around a star 400 light-years away, offering rare insight into how worlds emerge
Astronomers have utilised the WM Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi, to obtain one of the clearest views yet of a planet-forming environment.
Their target, the young star HD 34282 approximately 400 light-years from Earth, is encircled by a dense disc of dust and gas known as a “transition disc”.
Using the NIRC2 infrared camera equipped with advanced adaptive optics and aperture-masking techniques, the research team resolved fine details near the star.
They discovered bright clumps of dust, irregular structures and a conspicuous gap about 40 astronomical units (AU) wide separating an inner dusty envelope from the outer disc, which is a strong marker of potential planet formation.
However, no planet was discovered by the researchers.
So far, only two disks, PDS 70 b and c, have been physically imaged. This makes the HD 34282's findings highly valuable. Other systems, such as HL Tau, include rings and gaps that hint to hidden worlds.
The additional data from HD 34282 refines this picture: even without a planet, the gap and clusters in this disk indicate where a young world could be. The team will continue to survey additional young stars and use future technologies, like as Keck's planned SCALES imager, to reveal these worlds in formation.
The observations form part of the initiative known as the “Search for Protoplanets with Aperture Masking” (SPAM) project, which aims to spot the earliest stages of planetary development.
