Astronomers witness birth of a new solar system for the first time
It is a 'proto' star, newly formed and swaddled in a dense disk of gas and dust, the very building blocks from which planets emerge. Using JWST's infrared sensitivity, researchers first identified chemical fingerprints of hot, crystalline minerals, notably silicon monoxide (SiO), beginning to solidify within this disc. Follow-up observations with ALMA pinpointed these minerals' location, revealing they were forming close to where our asteroid belt orbits in the Solar System today.
These images illustrate how hot gas condenses into solid minerals around the baby star HOPS-315. (Photo: ESO)
'This is the earliest moment of planet formation ever observed outside our Solar System,' said study lead author Professor Melissa McClure of Leiden University, whose results were published today in Nature.Co-author Professor Merel van 't Hoff of Purdue University likened the findings to 'a picture of the baby Solar System,' adding that HOPS-315 closely resembles what our Sun and planets would have looked like 4.6 billion years ago.Until now, astronomers have detected fully formed, massive, newborn planets or observed younger protoplanetary discs, but never witnessed the precise moment when small, rocky solids, the first 'seeds' of planets, began to condense and coalesce.The discovery of solidifying SiO minerals, trapped both in gas and crystal form, confirms that planetesimal formation is underway around HOPS-315.'This process has never been seen before anywhere outside our Solar System,' said co-author Professor Edwin Bergin of the University of Michigan. The location of the mineral signals, equivalent to our asteroid belt, further strengthens the connection to our own origins, echoing the materials found in ancient meteorites and asteroids that predate Earth.ESO's Elizabeth Humphreys, who wasn't involved in the study, called the findings 'a very early stage of planet formation,' and emphasised the unique synergy between JWST and ALMA in revealing such cosmic genesis.Astronomers are excited that with HOPS-315, they now have an unprecedented laboratory for studying the processes that shaped not just our Solar System, but potentially countless worlds across the galaxy.- EndsTrending Reel
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