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ALMA Observes The Missing Link In Exoplanet Formation

January 21, 2026
ALMA Observes The Missing Link In Exoplanet Formation
By Evan Gough (https://ift.tt/HhBCWYE)

This figure shows 20 of the debris disks in the ARKS survey from youngest (upper left) to oldest (lower right). A scale bar measures 20 astronomical units in each image. The two oldest disks show faint ring-gap structures. Image Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Ohashi et al.

Back in 2014, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) captured an image of a young protoplanetary disk around a young star named HL Tauri. The image showed gaps and rings in the disk, substructures indicating that young planets forming there. This meant that planet formation began around young stars a lot sooner than thought. ALMA is continuing its investigation of protoplanetary disks in its ARKS survey (ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures).



January 21, 2026 at 08:09PM
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