Dusty Belts Provide Clearer Insights into Exoplanet Formation

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Dusty Belts Provide Clearer Insights into Exoplanet Formation

Dusty belts of debris from the birth of stars are wide and dynamic, fed by frequent collisions between exocomets and stirred by the gravity of nearby planets, according to a recent study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. The findings offer new insights into the planet-building process. The belts are analogous to the solar system’s Kuiper Belt, a doughnut-shaped zone beyond the orbit of Neptune that holds hundreds of millions of icy bodies. …