News Astronomy

Galactic chaos at cosmic noon may have stunted Milky Way planet formation

That may be why the galaxy’s oldest stars have fewer planets than ones in our neighborhood

A view of the Milky Way galaxy, an oblong shape with a line of bright pink light partially obscured by dust across the middle, horizontally.

Stars in the Milky Way’s central thin disk (brightest region in this image from the Gaia spacecraft) have more planets than stars above and below that plane.

DPAC/GAIA/ESA

By Lisa Grossman

The Milky Way keeps its planets close to its chest. Stars in a thin, flat disk bisecting the galaxy have more planets on average than stars in a thicker, enveloping disk — and astronomers now think they know why.