Volcanic ash rain does not only occur on Earth. In the planetary system, eruptions that cause dust rain also occur in protoplanetary disk.
” data-image-caption=”
Dust rain that occurs in the protoplanetary disk and contributes to the formation of planets in the outermost area. Credit: Kagoshima University
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/langitselatan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rain-dust-di-system-planet.jpeg?fit=300%2C212&ssl= 1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/langitselatan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rain-dust-in-planet-system.jpeg?fit=900%2C636&ssl =1″ width=”900″ height=”636″ alt=”Dust rain that occurs on the protoplanetary disk and contributes to the formation of planets in the outermost areas. Credit: Kagoshima University” class=”wp-image-34356″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/langitselatan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rain-dust-in-planetary-system .jpeg?w=900&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/langitselatan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rain-dust-di-sistem-planet.jpeg?resize=300% 2C212&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/langitselatan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rain-dust-di-system-planet.jpeg?resize=768%2C543&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/langitselatan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hujan-debu-di-sistem-planet.jpeg?resize=71%2C50&ssl=1 71w, https://i0 .wp.com/langitselatan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rain-dust-in-planet-system.jpeg?resize=870%2C615&ssl=1 870w” sizes=”(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px” data-recalc-dims=”1″/>
Have you ever seen or experienced volcanic ash rain? Have you ever witnessed a volcanic eruption live or through news shows and movies on TV?
In December 2021, the La Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma erupted. Take a look at the news. When the eruption occurred, the lava and ash that was spewed out fell again into the area around the mountain.
A similar process also occurs in young stars. Now imagine a young star as a volcano. This young star is not spewing lava and ash but gas and dust. The gas and dust vomit then falls back into the outermost areas of the star and enriches the existing material for planet formation.
For the first time, astronomers have been able to create three-dimensional simulations that show how this process takes place.
Dust Rain
When stars form, they are surrounded by a disk of gas and dust that is the site of planet formation. When the planets are in the process of forming, gravity attracting gas and dust to combine to form planets. As a result, a gap or ring is formed in the disc.
But, in this case, there is a ring of gas and dust that forms at a distance even further than Neptune’s. If we use the Solar System scale. There should be, at that distance, less dust than the amount of dust near the star.
So how do planets form in the outer regions of stars?
To understand this process, astronomers made simulations with the ATERUI II supercomputer in Japan. Stardust can get that far because a large amount of dust in the central area is carried away by gas streams and thrown in the opposite direction. Much like a star spewing some gas and dust up and down. Gravity attracts dust which then falls to the outside of the disk, much like a rain of volcanic ash. It must have been an amazing sight!
cool facts
Planets form when the disk of gas and dust around a star collapses due to the star’s gravity. Because the mass of the star is clearly greater than the mass of the disk around it, the star pulls the material closer. After a while, the gas is gone while the dust continues to be replaced. This dust then combines to form planetary embryos (called planetesimals), and in the final stages become a planet.
Source: This article is a republished version of Space Scoop Universe Awareness Indonesian edition. Indonesian edition of Space Scoop translated by langitselatan.
Related
–
