The headline from astronomers reads: "Possible Miniature Solar System Discovered."
Interesting. Then the story says:
Astronomers have discovered what they believe is the birth of the smallest known solar system. Peering through ground- and space-based telescopes, scientists observed a brown dwarf — or failed star — less than one hundredth the mass of the sun surrounded by what appears to be a disk of dust and gas.The brown dwarf — located 500 light years away in the constellation Chamaeleon — appears to be undergoing a planet-forming process that could one day yield a solar system, said Kevin Luhman of Pennsylvania State University, who led the discovery.
The new finding is the smallest brown dwarf to be discovered with planet-forming properties. If the disk forms planets, the resulting solar system will be about 100 times smaller than our own, scientists said.
Pretty cool. But -- admit it -- when you read the headline, didn't you immediately think of Men in Black and that galaxy in a jewel hanging around the neck of a cat?
Posted by Alan at November 29, 2005 10:33 PM