Vanishing dust belt around star baffles scientists
July 4, 2012 - MSNBC
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Observations by the Gemini South telescope in Chile and several other
instruments found that the infrared light emitted by the dust had
dropped by more than half. In subsequent studies, the amount of dust
around the star had all but vanished, dropping by a factor of nearly 30
in two years.
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Friday, July 20, 2012
Dust Today, Gone Tomorrow: Astronomers Discover Houdini-Like Vanishing Act in Space
Dust Today, Gone Tomorrow: Astronomers Discover Houdini-Like Vanishing Act in Space
July 5, 2012 - ScienceDaily
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The dust had been present around the star since at least 1983 (no one had observed the star in the infrared before then), and it continued to glow brightly in the infrared for 25 years. In 2009, it started to dim. By 2010, the dust emission was gone; the astronomers observed the star twice that year from the Gemini Observatory in Chile, six months apart. An infrared image obtained by the Gemini telescope as recently as May 1 of this year confirmed that the warm dust has now been gone for two-and-a-half years.
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July 5, 2012 - ScienceDaily
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The dust had been present around the star since at least 1983 (no one had observed the star in the infrared before then), and it continued to glow brightly in the infrared for 25 years. In 2009, it started to dim. By 2010, the dust emission was gone; the astronomers observed the star twice that year from the Gemini Observatory in Chile, six months apart. An infrared image obtained by the Gemini telescope as recently as May 1 of this year confirmed that the warm dust has now been gone for two-and-a-half years.
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Planet-Forming Disk Vanishes Into Thin Air
Planet-Forming Disk Vanishes Into Thin Air
July 5, 2012 - Wired News
Some 460 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus, a thick disk of dust swirled around a young star named TYC 8241 2652 1, where rocky planets like our own were arising. Then, in less than 2 years, the disk just vanished. That’s the unprecedented observation astronomers report in a new study, out today. Even more intriguing: The same thing may have happened in our own solar system.
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July 5, 2012 - Wired News
Some 460 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus, a thick disk of dust swirled around a young star named TYC 8241 2652 1, where rocky planets like our own were arising. Then, in less than 2 years, the disk just vanished. That’s the unprecedented observation astronomers report in a new study, out today. Even more intriguing: The same thing may have happened in our own solar system.
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Planet-forming disk abruptly shuts down
Planet-forming disk abruptly shuts down
July 6, 2012 - Astronomy.com
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Astronomers first saw the dusty disk at TYC 8241 2652 using NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983, and it remained brightly glowing for 25 years. Like Earth, warm dust absorbs the energy of visible starlight (sunlight) and reradiates that heat energy as infrared radiation. An infrared image obtained at the Gemini Telescope in Chile on May 1, 2012 confirmed that the warm dust has now been gone for 2.5 years.
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July 6, 2012 - Astronomy.com
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Astronomers first saw the dusty disk at TYC 8241 2652 using NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983, and it remained brightly glowing for 25 years. Like Earth, warm dust absorbs the energy of visible starlight (sunlight) and reradiates that heat energy as infrared radiation. An infrared image obtained at the Gemini Telescope in Chile on May 1, 2012 confirmed that the warm dust has now been gone for 2.5 years.
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Planet-forming dust disc surrounding distant star disappears
Planet-forming dust disc surrounding distant star disappears
July 5, 2012 - Los Angeles Times
A disc of planet-forming dust around a distant star has disappeared unexpectedly, leaving astronomers scratching their heads and questioning current theories of how planets are formed. "It's like the classic magician's trick: Now you see it, now you don't," said astronomer Carl Melis of UC San Diego, who led the team that discovered the phenomenon. "Only in this case, we're talking about enough dust to fill an inner solar system and it is really gone." The team has proposed several possible explanations for the disappearance, but "none are really compelling," Melis said.
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The team reported Thursday in the journal Nature that they reexamined the star in 2008 using the Gemini South Observatory in Chile and found the same infrared signature observed in 1983. But when they looked at it again in 2009 with NASA's orbiting Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, about two-thirds of the dust had disappeared....
July 5, 2012 - Los Angeles Times
A disc of planet-forming dust around a distant star has disappeared unexpectedly, leaving astronomers scratching their heads and questioning current theories of how planets are formed. "It's like the classic magician's trick: Now you see it, now you don't," said astronomer Carl Melis of UC San Diego, who led the team that discovered the phenomenon. "Only in this case, we're talking about enough dust to fill an inner solar system and it is really gone." The team has proposed several possible explanations for the disappearance, but "none are really compelling," Melis said.
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The team reported Thursday in the journal Nature that they reexamined the star in 2008 using the Gemini South Observatory in Chile and found the same infrared signature observed in 1983. But when they looked at it again in 2009 with NASA's orbiting Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, about two-thirds of the dust had disappeared....
How did an entire star system's worth of dust just vanish? Scientists baffled
How did an entire star system's worth of dust just vanish? Scientists baffled
July 5, 2012 - Christian Science Monitor
In a cosmic case of "now-you-see-it, now-you-don't," a brilliant disk of dust around a Sun-like star has suddenly vanished, and the scientists who observed the disappearance aren't sure about what happened.
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An image taken May 1 by the Gemini observatory at La Serena, Chile, confirmed that the disk was gone.
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July 5, 2012 - Christian Science Monitor
In a cosmic case of "now-you-see-it, now-you-don't," a brilliant disk of dust around a Sun-like star has suddenly vanished, and the scientists who observed the disappearance aren't sure about what happened.
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