Research Points to Rapid Planetary Formation Around Distant Stars
by John Noble Wilford

In another discovery, a team of international astronomers using infrared telescopes was surprised
to find similar circumstellar disks that were 10 to 100 times as larte as the solar system or any
planet-forming disks previously studied.

The team, led by Dr. Richard Elston of the University of Florida and Dr. (Elizabeth) Lada, who
are married, calculated that each disk's diameter stretched thousands of times the distance from
Earth to the Sun.

Dr. Elston said the observations suggested that it might be possible for planets to form at much
greater distances from their stars than previously thought. This could throw theorists in a spin,
but it would be good news for astronomers.

"Planets are notoriously difficult to detect near stars, which swamp their visible light," Dr. Elston
said. "So if the more distant reaches of the disk are conducive to planet formation, they will be
easier to find once astronomers start looking there."