How the solar system got its `Great Divide´, and why it matters for life on Earth
(WorldNews Environment)

Scientists from Japan and the USA have finally scaled the solar system`s equivalent of the Rocky Mountain range. ALMA image of the disc around the young star TW Hydrae ALMA of the nearby young star TW Hydrae reveals the classic rings and gaps that signify planets are in formation in this system. Credit: S. Andrews (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA); B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) In a study published recently in Nature Astronomy, the researchers unveil the possible origins of our cosmic neighbourhood`s `Great Divide`. This well-known schism may have partitioned the solar system just after the Sun first formed. The phenomenon is similar to how the Rocky Mountains divide North America...