ALMA Discovers Comet Factory

6 June, 2013 / Read time: 1 minute

The detection of this "dust trap" solves a long-standing mystery: how dust particles around stars sum up to form planets, comets, and other rocky bodies. This video goes deep into the dust trap to explore how this comet factory works.
Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO).
Visual design and editing: Martin Kornmesser and Luis Calçada. Editing: Herbert Zodet. Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida. Written by: Javier Perez Barbuzano, Richard Hook and Herbert Zodet. Narration: Dr. J. Music: movetwo. Footage and photos: ESO, Nienke van der Marel, Christoph Malin (christophmalin.com), Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org), Digitized Sky Survey 2, Stéphane Guisard (eso.org/~sguisard), Luis Calçada, José Francisco Salgado (josefrancisco.org) and NASA/JPL-Caltech/Robert Hurt (SSC/Caltech). Directed by: Herbert Zodet. Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen.