Secrets of dust growth revealed in the famous PDS 70 planetary laboratory

Star system: PDS 70 | Distance from the Sun: 370 light years

Using the ALMA telescope, astronomers have captured deep polarization images of the disk surrounding the star PDS 70, a unique system known for hosting two actively forming planets.

By analyzing how light scatters off dust particles in the massive ring surrounding the star, researchers discovered that the dust grains are surprisingly small, reaching a maximum size of only about 0.1 millimeters. This suggests that even in environments where planets are growing, the building blocks of ice-coated dust may be prevented from getting larger due to particles constantly bouncing off or breaking each other apart during collisions.

Scientific study

ALMA 873 μm Polarization Observations of the PDS~70 Disk (external link)