Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Acceleration due to Gravity on Other Planets01:24

Acceleration due to Gravity on Other Planets

4.2K
The gravitational acceleration of an object near the Earth's surface is called the acceleration due to gravity. It can be measured by conducting simple experiments on Earth. However, such an experiment is impossible to conduct on the surface of other planets.
Astronomical observations are thus used to measure the acceleration due to gravity on other planets. This can be determined by observing the effect of a planet's gravity on objects close to it. The crucial factor that helps in this...
4.2K
Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion01:10

Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion

4.0K
In the early 17th century, German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler postulated three laws for the motion of planets in the solar system. He formulated his first two laws based on the observations of his forebears, Nikolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe.
Polish astronomer Nikolaus Copernicus put forth a theory that stated a heliocentric model for the solar system. According to this heliocentric theory, all the planets, including Earth, orbit the Sun in circular orbits.
On the other hand,...
4.0K
Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion01:18

Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion

3.2K
In the early 17th century, German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler postulated three laws for the motion of planets in the solar system. In 1909, he formulated his first two laws based on the observations of his forebears, Nikolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe. However, in 1918, he published his third law of planetary motion, which gives a precise mathematical relationship between a planet's average distance from the Sun and the amount of time it takes to revolve around the Sun. It...
3.2K
Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion01:29

Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion

4.2K
In the early 17th century, German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler postulated three laws for the motion of planets in the solar system. His first law states that all planets orbit the Sun in an elliptical orbit, with the Sun at one of the ellipse's foci. Therefore, the distance of a planet from the Sun varies throughout its revolution around the Sun.
While in an elliptical orbit, the total energy of the planet is conserved. Therefore, the planet slows down when it is at apogee and...
4.2K
Gravitation01:16

Gravitation

6.4K
In the years before Newton, a general belief prevailed that different laws governed objects in the sky than objects on Earth. When Kepler wrote down the three laws of planetary motion, explaining in detail the geometrical properties of the planetary orbits around the Sun, there was no immediate idea to discern their connection with more fundamental laws. It was Isaac Newton who, in 1665–66, figured out the connection between planetary motion, the motion of the moon around the Earth, and...
6.4K
Stability of Equilibrium Configuration: Problem Solving01:13

Stability of Equilibrium Configuration: Problem Solving

600
The stability of equilibrium configurations is an important concept in physics, engineering, and other related fields. In simple terms, it refers to the tendency of an object or system to return to its equilibrium position after being disturbed. The stability of an equilibrium configuration can be analyzed by considering the potential energy function of the system and examining its behavior near the equilibrium point.
Problem-solving in the context of the stability of equilibrium configuration...
600

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A young gas giant and hidden substructures in a protoplanetary disk.

Nature astronomy·2025
Same author

Reproductive health among women living with HIV attending Melbourne Sexual Health Centre for HIV care from February 2019 to February 2020.

Sexual health·2024
Same author

[Coronary artery disease risk stratification prior to kidney transplantation].

Giornale italiano di cardiologia (2006)·2023
Same author

An infrared transient from a star engulfing a planet.

Nature·2023
Same author

Deuterium-enriched water ties planet-forming disks to comets and protostars.

Nature·2023
Same author

Effect of intubation in the lateral position under general anesthesia induction on the position of double-lumen tube placement in patients undergoing unilateral video-assisted thoracic surgery: study protocol for a prospective, single-center, parallel group, randomized, controlled trial.

Trials·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 14, 2025

Laboratory Drop Towers for the Experimental Simulation of Dust-aggregate Collisions in the Early Solar System
09:44

Laboratory Drop Towers for the Experimental Simulation of Dust-aggregate Collisions in the Early Solar System

Published on: June 5, 2014

12.7K

Gravitational instability in a planet-forming disk.

Jessica Speedie1, Ruobing Dong2,3, Cassandra Hall4,5

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. jspeedie@uvic.ca.

Nature
|September 4, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Gravitational instability may form planets directly from collapsing disk fragments. Kinematic evidence in the AB Aurigae disk supports this planet formation theory, suggesting a massive disk relative to its star.

More Related Videos

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
06:42

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability

Published on: March 3, 2017

9.5K
Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
06:04

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory

Published on: November 15, 2013

11.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 14, 2025

Laboratory Drop Towers for the Experimental Simulation of Dust-aggregate Collisions in the Early Solar System
09:44

Laboratory Drop Towers for the Experimental Simulation of Dust-aggregate Collisions in the Early Solar System

Published on: June 5, 2014

12.7K
Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
06:42

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability

Published on: March 3, 2017

9.5K
Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
06:04

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory

Published on: November 15, 2013

11.5K

Area of Science:

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Planetary Science

Background:

  • Planet formation theories include core accretion and gravitational instability.
  • Gravitational instability requires massive circumstellar disks (disk-to-star mass ratio ~1:10) to form planets directly from collapsing fragments.
  • Estimating disk mass is challenging, but gas kinematics can reveal disk instability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present kinematic evidence of gravitational instability in the protoplanetary disk around AB Aurigae.
  • To test the hypothesis that gravitational instability can trigger planet formation.

Main Methods:

  • Deep observations of 13CO and C18O line emission using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
  • Analysis of disk-velocity structure to detect kinematic signatures of gravitational instability.
  • Quantitative comparison of observed kinematics with simulations and analytic models.

Main Results:

  • Kinematic evidence for gravitational instability was detected in the AB Aurigae disk.
  • Observed velocity structures closely match predictions from theoretical models.
  • Inferred disk mass is up to one-third of the stellar mass within a 1″ to 5″ region.

Conclusions:

  • The findings support the gravitational instability theory for planet formation.
  • The AB Aurigae disk is massive enough to be gravitationally unstable.
  • Direct protoplanet formation via disk fragmentation is plausible in such massive disks.