Around young stars, disks of gas and dust swirl: these are the construction sites for future planets. In the binary system HD 142527, such a disk is especially intriguing. Astronomers aimed three instruments working in the infrared range (thermal emission from dust) at it and saw a surprising picture. The inner part of the disk, from the star out to a distance about six times greater than the Sun–Jupiter distance, turned out to be asymmetric. Moreover, the shape of this region changes from year to year, like the shadow of clouds on the ground.
What makes the disk change so dramatically? The prime suspect is the companion star HD 142527 B. It orbits the primary star in an elongated orbit and every 24 years comes within about 5 astronomical units. Its gravity perturbs the dust and gas, creating waves and asymmetric clumps. Such "shaking" can influence how and where planets form. Perhaps it is in such turbulent conditions that planets with unusual orbits are born.
Dust grains in the inner disk of HD 142527 A are so close to the star that their temperature can exceed 1000 degrees Celsius — hotter than a blast furnace.
In the series "The Expanse," the asteroid belt formed due to gravitational perturbations similar to those currently observed in the HD 142527 system.