Astrophysical disks articles from across Nature Portfolio

High-resolution ALMA observations reveal a gravitationally bound septuple protostar system in NGC 6334IN, formed through disk fragmentation. This discovery sheds light on the formation of extreme high-order multiplicity in massive stellar clusters.

ALMA telescope observations over a 7-year period have ‘filmed’ spiral arms winding in a protoplanetary disk. This motion is a hallmark of gravitational instability, a theory that suggests how giant planets might form far from their host stars.

JWST/NIRSpec observations of the 49 Ceti debris disk reveal spatially resolved, fluorescently excited CO emission, indicating a secondary origin of the gas in debris disks (that is, from the collision of volatile-rich bodies).

Detailed mapping of the distribution of water and semiheavy water in the coma of Halley-type comet 12P implies a D/H ratio that is consistent with that of Earth’s water, indicating a common heritage.

Observations at infrared and millimetre wavelengths of the young protostar HOPS-315 show a gaseous disk captured at the point at which solids are first starting to condense, the t = 0 for planet formation.

ALMA and Gaia data combine to reveal a young gas giant in the protoplanetary disk around MP Mus. Previously unseen substructures, visible only at longer wavelengths, suggest that more planets may hide in disks than previously thought.

Observations of polarized thermal emission from dust grains in the protoplanetary disk around the HD 142527 protostar suggest that in part of the disk the polarization is caused by the magnetic field. The strength and structure of this magnetic field are deduced from these observations using a modelling approach.