In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have for the first time witnessed the birth of a new solar system. The observation, made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Atacama Large Millimeter → submillimeter Array (ALMA), has provided unprecedented insight into the early stages of planet formation.
The young star at the center of this phenomenon is HOPS-315, located approximately 1,300 light years away. Surrounded by a vast cloud of gas and dust, this star is in the process of giving rise to new worlds. By pinpointing the location of hot minerals as they begin to solidify near the star, researchers have captured the earliest observable moment of planet formation.
The signals detected by the JWST and ALMA reveal the presence of simple minerals that are beginning to harden near HOPS-315. This marks the first steps toward building planets, a stage that has been theorized for decades but never directly observed so close to the star. Typically, astronomers observe planet-forming discs after large planets have already carved gaps.
However, this remarkable discovery captures the starting line for rocky building blocks. The observations indicate that these solids are forming within roughly 2.
Astronomers recently reported the earliest observable moment of planet formation around a young star called HOPS-315, capturing hot minerals turning...Other related sources and context: See here
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