TW Hydrae

TW Hydrae is a nearby, young T Tauri star in the constellation Hydra, surrounded by a protoplanetary disk whose structure can be studied in detail.

T Tauri star: A young, low-mass star still contracting toward the main sequence, often marked by strong activity and accretion. TW Hydrae is a nearby example of this pre-main-sequence stellar class.
Protoplanetary disk gap: A region of reduced material within a protoplanetary disk, potentially carved by planets or other processes. Gaps in TW Hydrae’s disk are studied as possible signs of planet formation.
ALMA: A radio interferometer in Chile that observes the universe at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. ALMA resolved rings and gaps in TW Hydrae’s disk with exceptional detail.
Protoplanetary disk imaging: The observation and mapping of gas and dust structures in disks around young stars. TW Hydrae is a key target for resolving disk structure at high angular resolution.
Protoplanetary disk: A rotating disk of gas and dust around a young star, where planets can form. Its disk makes TW Hydrae a direct laboratory for studying planet-forming material.
Debris disk: A disk of dust and planetesimal debris around a star, typically remaining after primordial gas disperses. Unlike a mature debris disk, TW Hydrae retains gas from its primordial disk.
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array: A radio telescope array in Chile designed for millimeter and submillimeter astronomy. This is the expanded name of ALMA, already linked here as the instrument used to image the disk.
Astrochemistry: The study of chemical composition and reactions in astronomical environments. TW Hydrae’s nearby disk enables detailed measurements of planet-forming chemistry.
Pre-main-sequence star: A star that has not yet begun stable hydrogen fusion in its core. TW Hydrae is still in this early stage of stellar evolution.
Magnetospheric accretion: A process in which a young star’s magnetic field channels disk gas onto its surface. It explains how material from TW Hydrae’s disk reaches the star.

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ProtoplanetRelated: Its disk observations reveal conditions in which planetary bodies may form.