Young Stars Steal Cosmic Material to Feed Their Planet-Forming Disks
For a long time, scientists thought that planet-forming disks around young stars shrink over time as they lose material. But new research is turning this idea on its head.
A study published in Nature Astronomy shows that young stars can actually gain material from their surroundings , thanks to a process known as Bondi-Hoyle accretion . This newly discovered dynamic could change how we understand the birth of planets — and maybe even where to look for habitable worlds.
How Stars “Eat” to Build Planets
Stars are born inside massive clouds of gas and dust. As they grow, they pull material into a spinning disk — the same disk where planets will one day form. But instead of just losing mass, researchers found that stars can collect extra gas and dust from their environment , helping rebuild and expand their disks.
This discovery explains why some protoplanetary disks are larger or last longer than current theories predicted.
“This changes everything,” says Paolo Padoan , lead author of the study. “Stars aren’t isolated — they interact with their surroundings, and that interaction shapes the space where planets are born.”
