Strange object near star hints at a 'comet factory'

By Elizabeth HowellSpace.comA mysterious object lurking near the young star Oph IRS 48 could, along with observations of dust grains, change our understanding of planet formation, astronomers said.Observations of the system revealed a "dust trap" of millimeter-size grains on one side of the star, with smaller micrometer-size particles spread evenly throughout the disc. The particles, astronomers s...