The Milky Way keeps its planets close to its chest. Stars in a thin, flat disk bisecting the galaxy have more planets on average than stars in a thicker, enveloping disk — and astronomers now think they know why.
Stars that currently live in the galaxy’s thick disk were born during a time of galactic chaos, says MIT astrophysicist Tim Hallatt. The stars’ violent upbringing hindered their ability to grow and retain planets, he and astrophysicist Eve Lee, formerly of McGill University in Montreal, report January 22 in the Astrophysical Journal.
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