Astronomers Find 1 Trillion-Mile Gas Streamer Tipped GW Orionis Disk

3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Aug 17

ALMA observations revealed a 0.2-light-year gas streamer feeding into GW Orionis and striking its outer ring at nearly the same angle as the ring’s tilt.
That impact appears to have exchanged angular momentum with the disk, overturning the earlier idea that an unseen gas giant carved the gap and warped the outer ring.
GW Orionis, about 1,300 light-years away, is a rare young triple-star system whose three planet-forming rings are already misaligned, with the outer ring the most extreme case.
The finding offers a possible explanation for exoplanets with highly tilted or even retrograde orbits, though researchers say one system is not enough and want a broader survey of young stars.

Sources

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