Using the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array) telescope, an international team of astronomers has made the first direct observation of the formation of two gaseous planets around the star HD 142527. It’s a star that’s young in astronomical terms, with an age of about two million years more than 450 light years away from Earth.

The star HD 142527 is surrounded by a disk of cosmic dust, the remnants of the cloud from which the star was formed. The disc is divided into an inner and an outer part by a void that may have been carved by the planets in formation that are cleaning their orbits.

The internal disk is extended more or less like the orbit of Saturn in our solar system. The external disk instead starts at a distance about 14 times farther but is not uniform: it has a horseshoe shape, probably due to the gravitational effects of the planets.

The observations of the star HD 142527 system confirmed a theoretical prediction. In fact, streams of dust that go across the empty space in the disk have been identified. The astronomers who carried out the study believe that there’s a planet forming that causes each of those flows.

The planets are still growing due to the material they absorb, instead part of it ends up in the inner disc and feeds the star HD 142527, because it’s still forming as well. The ALMA telescope has allowed the astronomers to see those details they’d been looking for a long time.

Actually, the planets weren’t detected directly but it’s normal that at this moment they’re still covered by the gas flows, which are almost opaque. However, this is an extraordinary opportunity to study a solar system that is being formed so every detail, even indirect, is precious.

The ALMA telescope hasn’t yet been completed yet but has already entered service in 2011 using the equipment already working. In the coming months all of its 66 antennas are scheduled to be activated so in the future we can expect to get more information on the planets of HD 142527.

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