Vega, a Closer Look: Smooth Disc, No Planets, Starspots

A little over a week ago, scientist published a detailed analysis of Vega's surprisingly planet-free debris disc.

Vega, one of the brightest stars in Earth's sky, may have planets: but the October 31 paper rules out any Saturn-size or larger worlds in wide orbits. That reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes quote:

"'Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?'
'To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.'
'The dog did nothing in the night-time.'
'That was the curious incident,' remarked Sherlock Holmes."
("The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", "Silver Blaze" , Arthur Conan Doyle (1894) Via Gutenberg.org)

More to the point, not finding planets in Vega's debris disc should help scientists learn more about how stars and planets form. And gives me something to write about.

• Vega Debris Disc: "Smooth, Ridiculously Smooth"
  • Dust, a Gap, and — the "Poynting-Robertson Effect"?
  • A Closer Look at Vega's Dusty Disc
  • Hubble's Vega Image
• How We Know What We Know About Vega, and a Little Lore
  • Finding Vega, and a little Skywatching Lore
• Spiky Stars and Fomalhaut's Planet That Isn't There (Probably)
  • Diffraction Spikes, a Debris Disc Distraction, Fomalhaut's Far-Flung System
• 46 Centuries of Thinking About This Universe, Briefly

More at A Catholic Citizen in America.

(JWST MIRI and Hubble images of Vega Debris System: what scientists are learning; my look at a little geek-speak, skywatching, and what we are learning.)