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janrinok [soylentnews.org] writes:

And scientist believe that the explanation might be magnetism. Material released by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) [nasa.gov] discusses how the mystery has been solved:

'Astronomers say that magnetic storms in the gas orbiting young stars may explain a mystery that has persisted since before 2006.

Researchers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to study developing stars have had a hard time figuring out why the stars give off more infrared light than expected. The planet-forming disks that circle the young stars are heated by starlight and glow with infrared light, but Spitzer detected additional infrared light coming from an unknown source.

A new theory, based on three-dimensional models of planet-forming disks, suggests the answer: Gas and dust suspended above the disks on gigantic magnetic loops like those seen on the sun absorb the starlight and glow with infrared light.'

However, the report goes into considerably more detail and is an interesting read.

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