2023-12-07 10:45:47
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the presence of water and other substances typical of the composition of rocky planets like Earth has been detected for the first time in a cosmic region of a kind in which until now the formation of planets was considered impossible. rocky
These are the first results from the XUE (eXtreme Ultraviolet Environments) program, carried out with the James Webb space telescope. The XUE program focuses on the characterization of planet-forming disks (vast rotating clouds of gas, dust and rock chunks where planets form and evolve) in regions of massive star formation. These regions are probably representative of the environment in which most planetary systems form. Knowing the impact of the environment on planet formation is important to have a clearer idea of the diversity of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system).
The XUE program targets a total of 15 disks in three areas of the Lobster Nebula (also known as NGC 6357), a large emission nebula located about 5,500 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Scorpio. The Lobster Nebula is one of the youngest and closest sites of massive star formation, and is home to some of the most massive stars in our galaxy. Massive stars are hotter and therefore emit more ultraviolet radiation. This can disperse the gas, shortening the disk’s lifespan to as little as a million years. Thanks to Webb, astronomers can now study the effect of ultraviolet radiation on the inner, rocky planet-forming regions of protoplanetary disks around stars like our Sun.
“Webb is the only telescope with the spatial resolution and sensitivity necessary to study planetary forming disks in regions of massive star formation,” says María Claudia Ramírez-Tannus, from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, in Germany, and first author of the study. .
The aforementioned detection of water and other substances typical of rocky planets has been made in the protoplanetary disk called XUE 1, located in the Pismis 24 star cluster.
Artist’s recreation of a young star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk in which planets are forming. (Illustration: ESO / L. Calçada. CC BY 4.0)
Due to its location near several massive stars in NGC 6357, XUE 1 must have been constantly exposed to high amounts of ultraviolet radiation throughout its life. However, in this extreme environment, specifically in the inner area of the disk, the team detected a series of substances that are basic components of rocky planets: water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide and acetylene.
Such substances are common in the disks of star-forming regions where only low-mass stars form. This suggests that rocky planets can form in a much wider range of environments than previously believed.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the result of an international collaboration led by NASA, ESA and CSA, respectively the US, European and Canadian space agencies.
The study is titled “XUE: Molecular Inventory in the Inner Region of an Extremely Irradiated Protoplanetary Disk.” And it has been published in the academic journal The Astrophysical Journal. (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
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