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First ever live observation of the rotation of a planetary nursery

1er juin 2026

An international team led by a CNRS researcher from the Paris Observatory - PSL at the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Research in Astrophysics has achieved a world first by directly observing the rotation of a protoplanetary disc using the emission from the dust grains that make it up. Shedding new light on the mechanisms at work during the formation of planetary systems, this study is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on 1st June 2026.

The rotation of a protoplanetary disc (a disc where planets are being formed) has been observed directly for the very first time by mapping the emissions from the dust grains within it. The disc in question surrounds the young star AB Aurigae.

Le disque protoplanétaire d’AB Aurigae.
Crédit : ESO/A. Boccaletti et al.

Although it appears to generally rotate in accordance with the laws of physics, certain regions close to the star show an unexpected departure from this behaviour. A body of evidence suggests that this anomaly is caused by the presence of giant planets in the process of formation. The study, led by scientists from the CNRS at LIRA / Observatoire de Paris - PSL and the University of Bordeaux is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on June 1, 2026. It sheds fresh light on the mechanisms of planetary formation and the complex dynamics of protoplanetary discs.

Thanks to the unique near-infrared capabilities of the SPHERE instrument and its exceptional spatial resolution, the team was able to accurately track the disc’s structures and their evolution during three sets of observations, collected over a 4-year period. The scientists identified a bright structure, characteristic of accretion zones where gas and dust accumulate and fall onto an object in the process of formation. This phenomenon is closely linked to the formation of gas giant planets. Images of the AB Aurigae disc also reveal the rapid rotation of faint shadows cast onto its surface by invisible structures, which could possibly be protoplanets (planets in the process of formation) or opaque clumps of dust orbiting close to the star.

These findings, which are more complex than those predicted by theoretical models, underline the importance of continuing research aimed at directly detecting the properties of the protoplanets or clumps associated with the structures observed in the AB Aurigae disc.

Reference

Destructuring the disk of AB Aurigae : dynamics and accretion by Anthony Boccaletti and al., Astronomy & Astrophysics, 1st June 2026.

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Scientific contact

  • Anthony Boccaletti
    CNRS Research Director at the Paris Observatory – PSL (LIRA)
    +33 1 45 07 77 21
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