ns into a disk that gets thinner as it spins, kind of like a spinning clump of dough flattening into the shape of a pizza. These 'circumstellar' or 'protoplanetary' disks, as astronomers call them, are the birthplaces of planets.
Incredible footage has emerged of a private jet roaring through a narrow pass in California's so-called Star Wars Canyon.
Aviation photographer Christopher McGreevy captured the breathtaking flight of a Dassault Falcon 8X private jet thundering through the canyon that crosses Riverside and San Diego County in Death Valley National Park.
It is unclear who was flying the jet through the valley, which is made from walls of red, grey and pink rock which look similar to the fictional Star Wars planet Tatooine - Luke Skywalker's home planet.
In the first Star Wars film, A New Hope, Luke Skywalker is in an X-wing fighter and has to destroy the Death Star by flying through an incredibly narrow passage and uses 'the force' to navigate his aircraft.
The daring flight earlier this week is believed to have been part of a promotional video for the aircraft but this has yet to be confirmed by Dassault.
Military aircraft were banned from flying through the canyon lower than 1,500 ft after an F/A-18 Super Hornet slammed into the canyon wall in 2019, killing its pilot Charles Walker, 33 and injuring seven onlookers.
In the past, jets have been known to zip through the gorge at 200 to 300mph, flying as low as 200 ft from the canyon floor. But the canyon's walls are so steep, the aircraft are still able to fly below the rim.
Aviation photographer Christopher McGreevy captured the breathtaking flight of a Dassault Falcon 8X private jet through the small valley that crosses Riverside and San Diego County
An onlooker takes pictures and films the flight of the Dassault Falcon 8X as it makes its journey through the canyon
Onlookers take pictures and film footage of the private jet flying through the large canyon in Death Valley National Park
Military aircraft were banned from flying through the canyon lower than 1,500 feet since 2019 when an F/A-18 Super Hornet slammed into the canyon wall, killing its pilot Charles Walker, 33 and injuring seven onlookers
Mr McGreevy said he believed the private jet was being flown to film a promotional video for the aircraft
But it is common to see military planes completing training exercises just above the Death Valley canyon.
And it appears that civilian flights are still permitted.
Mr McGreevy said he believed the private jet was being flown to film a promotional video for the aircraft.
The jet was being shadowed by another aircraft, thought to be a CineJet, which are used to film Hollywood flight scenes.
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The Dassault Falcon 8X, which costs around $60million, is 80 feet long and can hold up to 19 passengers. It can reach a top cruising speed of 500mph. There are just 71 models in the world
The canyon is officially called Rainbow Canyon and is in Death Valley National Park, about 160 miles north of Los Angeles
The canyon is officially called Rainbow Canyon and is in Death Valley National Park, about 160 miles north of Los Angeles.
Mr McGreevy told The Drive: 'It was easily 20 passes in two sessions, in the AM and PM. I was told it's going to be a promo video for the new jet.
'They flew the crew's families out on it and they were on top of the hill watching. The kids and wives of the pilots were there. The jet flew into Inyokern Airport near China Lake from New Jersey.'
The Dassault Falcon 8X, which costs around $60million, is 80 feet long and can hold up to 19 passengers. It can reach a top cruising speed of 500mph. There are just 71 models in the world.
Fighter jets zipping through narrow Star Wars Canyon in 2017. The U.S. military uses an area of California's Death Valley National Park nicknamed Star Wars Canyon as a training site for fighter jet pilots
Lt. Cmdr. Ian "Elf" Kibler of the VX-9 Vampire squadron from Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, banks his F/A-18E Super Hornet through the nicknamed Star Wars Canyon in Death Valley National Park in 2017
A fighter jet roars through the Death Valley canyon during a training exercise in 2017
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