Research theme 01 ยท Planet formation
How young planets grow
Young giant planets gain mass from the gas around them. We measure the light released by this process, called accretion, to study how planetary growth changes over time.
The question
How does gas reach a growing planet, and is that flow steady or variable?
What we observe
We use ultraviolet, optical, and infrared images and spectra to measure accretion emission. Careful subtraction of the host star's light lets us isolate the much fainter planet.
What we have learned
PDS 70 c became significantly brighter in hydrogen-alpha emission between our 2020 and 2024 Hubble observations. This line traces accretion, so the change suggests that the planet's growth is variable. Read the Deep Dive or the paper on ADS.
Why it matters
Variable accretion affects both how planets grow and when we can detect them. Repeated observations constrain the gas flow and help us interpret surveys that find few forming planets.
Opportunities for students
Students can reduce images, measure planetary brightness, compare observations from different dates, and test accretion models.