Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.
Sweet new research suggests that newly forming planets may have a flattened shape similar to that of a popular British candy. "We have been studying planet formation for a long time, but never before had we thought to check the shape of the planets as they form in the simulations. We had always assumed that they were spherical," said team member Dimitris Stamatellos, an astrophysicist at UCLan.
Readers outside the U.K. and Europe may not be familiar with Smarties — this version, at least. European Smarties are oblate spheroid-shaped disks of chocolate covered with a colorful hard candy shell that are manufactured by Nestle and sold in hexagonal cardboard tubes. have been discovered to date, astronomers still don't fully understand in detail the sequence of events that marks their birth and early evolution. The new research could shed more light on that process. .
“This theory is appealing due to the fact that large planets can form very quickly at large distances from their host star, explaining some exoplanet observations," said UCLan's Adam Fenton. The team's model suggested that newly forming planets take the shape of oblate spheroids because, as material falls onto them, it goes mainly to their poles.is directed"face on" to an exoplanet, then the planet will appear to have a traditional round shape; when seen on edge, however, a young planet would show its true Smartie-like shape and thus confirm if the team's model is right.
Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.