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Article: Telescope spies infant solar systems: University of Toledo astronomer alters ideas of star growth via Spitzer research.
- Article from:
- The Blade (Toledo, OH)
- Article date:
- August 22, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Blade. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Jenni Laidman
Aug. 22--The country is a better place to raise a toddler solar system than scientists realized. Thomas Megeath, a University of Toledo astronomer, pointed the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope -- named for Toledo native and astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer -- at the constellation Orion. He wasn't just looking for the places where a star is born. He wanted baby solar systems. His images reveal 2,300 solar-systems-in-the-making -- stars orbited by dusty disks that could coalesce into planets. It's believed most -- and perhaps all -- stars have such disks, although not all stars keep them. The stars he found swirl within two giant gas ...