Searching for hidden companions within the dusty disks of young stars

Star system: MWC 758 | Distance from the Sun: 508 light years

Using high-precision data from the Hipparcos and Gaia satellites, researchers have analyzed 11 young star systems surrounded by transition disks to find hidden orbiting bodies. 

The study successfully detected companions in several systems, including confirmed low-mass stars or sub-stellar objects around HD 142527, AB Aurigae, and MWC 758. In other cases, such as TW Hya and HD 100453, the lack of detection allowed scientists to set strict mass limits, ruling out any planets larger than a few Jupiter masses in the inner regions. These findings help us understand how massive objects shape the architecture of developing planetary systems and demonstrate our growing ability to weigh 'perturbers' that clear gaps in protoplanetary disks.

Scientific study

Dynamical Mass Constraints on Transition Disk Perturbers with the G23H Catalog (external link)