A new discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope could rewrite what we know about the formation of Earth-like planets. Thanks to this cutting-edge instrument, a carbon-rich cloud of gas and dust has been identified around a small star, with the potential to give rise to new rocky planets.
Led by Thomas Henning of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, the research analyzed detailed images of the Webb, published in the journal Science. This discovery is particularly important because planets like Earth form more easily around non-massive stars, but until now chemical processes within protoplanetary disks have been difficult to observe.
The Webb telescope, the result of a collaboration between NASAEuropean Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency, is currently the only instrument capable of observing these phenomena in detail
The observations focused on the star Iso-Chal 147, located in the Chameleon I region. Near the star, Webb detected an abundance of carbon-based molecules, such as ethane and benzene, and a shortage of oxygen-based molecules. This unique composition could be the key to the birth of rocky planets.
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