Proplyds, rapidly spinning stars immersed in dust and marked by polar jets, may aid planet formation around alien stars.

In this artist’s rendering, a proplyd appears as a rotating star nestled inside a cocoon of gas. Stellar jets stream from the star’s poles, slowing down its angular momentum enough that planets may eventually form.

In a recent study in the Astrophysical Journal, astronomers found that many of the proplyds found in the Orion nebula have enough material to develop to planetary systems like our own Solar System. Researchers used the Submillimeter Array atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea to peer into the proplyd disks and measure their mass. The research suggests that alien planetary systems may be more prevalent than previously thought, astronomers said.

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: D. Aguilar, CfA