Space Scan

Two huge “hypergiant” stars are found circled by monstrous disks of what might be planet-forming dust, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has identified this. The findings surprised astronomers. It is because stars as big as these were thought to be inhospitable to planets.

“These extremely massive stars are tremendously hot and bright and have very strong winds, making the job of building planets difficult,” said Joel Kastner of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. “Our data suggest that the planet-forming process may be hardier than previously believed, occurring around even the most massive stars that nature produces.”