A team of Dutch researchers found a small planet which is a companion around the young double star CS Cha. The astronomers studied the planet they detected by chance very well to find out later that it is really a toddler planet which is still growing up. Moreover, the team published a paper about the issue in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. The paper is accepted and will be published soon.
An infrared image of the binary CS Cha with the newly discovered companion in the dotted circle. After a mouse click you can see the image viewed with special polarization filters that make dust discs and exoplanets visible. The companion seems to have his own dust disc. Credit: C. Ginski & SPHERE
An infrared image of the binary star and the newly discovered companion, but now viewed with special polarization filters that make dust discs and exoplanets visible. The companion seems to have his own dust disc. Credit: C. Ginski & SPHERE
Infographic of the binary star CS Cha and its surrounding dust disc (left) with the newly discovered companion (right). The companion is located at more than 214 times the distance earth-sun fromthe binary, but clearly belongs to the system. The whole system is about 165 parsec (538 light years) away from Earth. Credit: C. Ginski/G.A. Muro Arena
Reference:
https://phys.org/news/2018-05-dutch-astronomers-toddler-planet-chance.html
