NASA Silicate Crystal Formation in the Disk of an Erupting Star

This artist's animation illustrates how silicate crystals like those found in comets can be created by an outburst from a growing star. It first shows a young sun-like star encircled by its planet-forming disk of gas and dust. The silicate that makes up most of the dust would have begun as non-crystallized, amorphous particles.

Then, material from the disk spirals onto the star increasing its mass and causing the star to brighten and heat up dramatically. The outburst causes temperatures to rise in the star's surrounding disk.

Next, the animation zooms into the disk to show close-ups of silicate particles. When the disk warms from the star's outburst, the amorphous particles of silicate melt. As they cool off, they transform into forsterite, a type of silicate crystal often found in comets in our solar system.

In April 2008, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope detected evidence of this process taking place on the disk of a young sun-like star called EX Lupi.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• NASA
• JPL
• Spitzer
• Space
• Telescope
• Silicate
• Crystal
• Formation
• in
• the
• Disk
• of
• an
• Erupting
• Star

[shadok0]

@neoverse

The science don't "prove" anything if you go this way. But it's not physic anymore, it's metaphysic.

Physics permit only to compare what is predicted to what is effectively measured. Therefore, the simplest explanation for what is measured is the "actual official explanation". But it can change with others contradictory observations.

The animation is just a tool to explain more easily to non specialists and obtain credits to perform more research.

[neoverse]

@pmack169 LOL, you wish. So sorry you can't wrap your mind around my initial statement. Animations do not prove anything. You can point to a million articles and that doesn't make an animation any more true. It doesn't matter what it represents, it's still an animation. The problem here is that you can't just read exactly what my comment says, you have to presume something that is not written in it.

[neoverse]

@pmack169 Everyone one on earth? I'd like to the see the evidence of that. But anyway, are you claiming that an article can prove an animation is an exact interpretation of an interpretation made by visual images?

[neoverse]

How is that gonna prove this is not an animation? Animation don't prove anything, put some real images up.

[DailyWoWhead]

its kryptonite!!!