Here’s How Giant Planets Like Jupiter Form: A Giant Planet Observed 7 Thousand Light-Years Away

Decades of studies on the formation of planets give us some answers. However, when it comes to planet formation, which we can never see with the naked eye, more research and observations are always needed.

A new study published has shed light on a very important issue regarding the formation of giant planets, and for many years ‘how do giant planets form?’ He once again revealed the answer to the question. Moreover, the observation is a first in history.

First, let’s take a look at the details of the mentioned planet formation;

A young star named V960 Mon in the Monoceros constellation, also known as Monoceros, has been observed by research teams for many years. The obtained data provided important evidence for the disc instability model, which we can call a newer theory for the formation of planets.

Scientists explain how planets are formed with ‘Nuclear Aggregation’ and ‘Disc Instability’ models. But the often prominent model, core aggregation, cannot fully explain the formation of gas giant planets like Jupiter. At this point, the disk instability model comes into play.

However, the lack of sufficient observations for the disk instability model has pushed this model into the background in recent years. Data from observations of V960 Mon were presented as evidence of disk instability occurring at planetary scales for the first time in history.

So what exactly is disk instability and how does it explain the formation of giant planets?

Simply put, in the disk instability model, clumps of dust and gas come together over time to form larger clumps, in some cases several times the size of our planet. This process occurs much faster than in the nucleation pattern, allowing them to capture light gases that disappear quickly.

This is exactly what was observed with the V960 Mon. Clusters, each several times the size of Earth, were found in the spiral arms forming in the disk around V960 Mon. These clusters are thought to be early stages of the formation of gas giant planets.

It is thought that examining young stars with observatories and giant telescopes will provide more data on the disk instability pattern in the future.