Z CMa Caught In Action Likely Flyby

Scientists have captured an intruder object disrupting the protoplanetary disk—birthplace of planets—in Z Canis Majors (Z CMa), a star in the Canis Majoris constellation. This artist’s impression shows the perturber leaving the star system, pulling a long stream of gas from the protoplanetary disk along with it. Observational data from the Subaru Telescope, Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array suggest the intruder object was responsible for the creati on of these gaseous streams, and its “visit” may have other as yet unknown impacts on the growth and development of planets in the star system.

Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)