Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have gathered the most detailed data yet on a gap in a protoplanetary, or planet-forming, disk surrounding a young star.

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Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have gathered the most detailed data yet on a gap in a protoplanetary, or planet-forming, disk surrounding a young star. This artist's concept illustrates one interpretation of the data, which attributes the disk gap to planet formation. At the center lies a young star that is pulling in material from an inner disk of dust and gas. The gap between this inner disk and the thick outer disk is believed to be occupied by developing gas giant planets. The putative planets prevent the outer disk material from naturally falling in toward the star, thereby creating the gap. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech