Left to their own devices, young stars would twirl so fast that they’d fly apart. Astronomers have long suspected that the planet-forming disks of gas and dust that surround many newborn stars put the brakes on these whirling dervishes. Now, researchers have the first clear-cut evidence that the young stars’ rotations are indeed slowed by their disks.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.