Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery that challenges current understanding of planet formation. A team of researchers, utilizing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has uncovered a young star, XUE 10, located in a massive star cluster over 5,500 light-years away. This star is bombarded by ultraviolet radiation thousands of times stronger than what the sun emits.
The findings, published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal, reveal that intense radiation from neighboring massive stars can dramatically reshape the building blocks of planets. The team's observations, facilitated by JWST's MIRI instrument, detected faint infrared light and uncovered the chemical fingerprints of water and carbon dioxide in the star's disk. A high-quality spectrum, created by processing the data through JWST's science pipeline, revealed heated dust and complex carbon molecules called PAHs that appeared at multiple wavelengths, mingling with silicate minerals.
However, the real surprise came from the gas, which showed an unusually strong CO2 emission, including four rare isotopic forms that have never been clearly seen together in a protoplanetary disk before. This unusual chemical fingerprint suggests that intense ultraviolet radiation from nearby massive stars may be destroying water while enhancing CO2. The discovery provides scientists with a rare glimpse into planetary formation under extreme conditions, forcing a reevaluation ← →
Their findings, published in the Astronomy ⁘ Astrophysics journal in August 2025, is titled "XUE: The CO 2 -rich terrestrial planet-forming region ...Other references and insights: Visit website
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