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USA Today
an hour ago
- Science
- USA Today
Here's how a star beyond Earth's sun could offer a 'picture of the baby solar system'
The finding marks a major milestone in the study of planetary formation and opens a window into the past of our own solar system. In an incredible breakthrough, a team of international astronomers have for the first time ever witnessed the birth of a planetary system beyond Earth's sun that could one day resemble our own. The newborn planetary system appears to be emerging 1,300 light-years away around a baby star known as HOPS-315 that resembles a young version of the Earth's own sun. Using data from ground and space telescopes, the researchers were able to pinpoint the moment when the first specks of planet-forming material began to coalesce around the protostar. The finding marks a major milestone in the study of planetary formation and opens a window into the past of our own solar system, the researchers say in a press release from the European Space Observatory. "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our sun,' lead researcher Melissa McClure, an astronomer at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said in a statement. How do planets form? Our solar system holds clues Stars form when an accumulation of gas and dust collapses because of gravity. Scientists think that generally what follows is the formation of planets, which emerge from the giant, doughnut-shaped disk of gas and dust that circles young stars, known as protoplanetary discs. In our solar system, the first solid material to condense near Earth around the sun is found trapped within ancient meteorites – or rocks from space that survive their trip through Earth's atmosphere. Astronomers can determine the age of these space rocks to calculate when the clock started on the solar system's formation. Because meteorites are packed with crystalline minerals that contain silicon monoxide, they can condense at the extremely high temperatures present in young planetary discs. Over time, these condensed solids bind together in a process that kickstarts planet formation as they gain both size and mass. Jupiter's gravity, often called the "architect" of our solar system, played a critical role in shaping the orbits of other planets and sculpting the disk of gas and dust from which they formed. Webb telescope helps spot planetary formation around HOPS-315 Now, evidence of these hot minerals were found just beginning to solidify in the disc around HOPS-315. The minerals were first identified using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. To trace the origin of the signals, the team turned to the ground-based Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA), an array of 66 radio telescopes located in the desert of northern Chile. The data from the observatories suggested that the chemical signals were coming from a small region of the disc around the star equivalent to the orbit of the asteroid belt around the Earth's sun, according to the researchers. Findings serve as 'picture of the baby solar system' It's not uncommon for astronomers to see protoplanetary discs containing infant Jupiter-like planets around baby stars like HOPS-315. But scientists have always known that the first solid parts of planets, known as planetesimals, must form much earlier. Merel van 't Hoff, an astronomer at Purdue University who co-authored the research, compares the findings to "a picture of the baby solar system." "We're seeing a system that looks like what our solar system looked like when it was just beginning to form,' van 't Hoff said in a statement. For that reason, the discovery could help astronomers glean more insights into our own cosmic history. It also provides astronomers with new information to study early planet formation that could serve as a model for newborn solar systems across the galaxy. The research was published July 16 in the journal Nature. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@
News18
2 hours ago
- Science
- News18
Cosmic Baby Photo: Scientists Catch Rare First Glimpse Of Planets Being Born Around A Sun
The young star, named HOPS-315, is located approximately 1,300 light-years away from Earth. It is classified as a protostar, a star in the earliest phase of development An unprecedented achievement has been made in the field of space science. For the first time, scientists have observed the earliest stages of planet formation around a newborn star similar to our Sun. This remarkable discovery was made by an international team of scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the ALMA telescope. The young star, named HOPS-315, is located approximately 1,300 light-years away from Earth. It is classified as a protostar, a star in the earliest phase of development. Surrounding HOPS-315 is a protoplanetary disc made of gas and dust, which serves as the birthplace of new planets. First Signs of Planet Birth Within this disc, scientists have detected the presence of hot mineral molecules that are beginning to solidify. These minerals eventually form planetesimals, small rock-like bodies that gradually combine to become planets. Lead researcher Melissa McClure from Leiden University stated, 'This is the first time we've observed when and how planet formation begins. It offers a crucial insight into the origins of our own solar system." Co-author Merel van 't Hoff from Purdue University described the discovery as 'a childhood photo of our solar system." The key molecule identified was silicon monoxide (SiO), a mineral also found in the early rocks of Earth and other planets. These minerals, initially in gas form, are now crystallising, marking the first solid step in planet formation. Striking Similarities With Our Solar System What makes this even more intriguing is that the signals of silicon monoxide came from the same region of the disc where the asteroid belt exists in our own solar system. According to Logan Francis (Leiden University), 'We're seeing the same minerals in the same location as we do in our solar system. It's a fascinating parallel." Why HOPS-315 Is So Special The disc around HOPS-315 acts as a natural laboratory, helping us understand the early formation of solar systems. According to Elizabeth Humphreys of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), 'HOPS-315 provides a unique opportunity to study the cosmic history of our own solar system." This discovery is not just a scientific milestone; it opens a window into how worlds like ours come into being. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Science
- BBC News
HOPS-315: Scientists spot birth of a new solar system for first time
Astronomers say they have observed the moment when planets start forming around a distant star for the first the earliest stage of planet formation ever seen by new planetary system is taking shape around HOPS-315, a baby star which is located 1,300 light years from Earth in the Orion say that the discovery could help better understand the beginnings of our own Solar System. What have scientists discovered? HOPS-315 is a baby star, which looks like our own Sun in its youth, and is located 1,300 light years from Earth in the Orion Nebula.A team of international researchers used the ALMA telescope in the Chilean desert along with the James Webb Space Telescope in order to witness the moment when planets began to form around HOPS-315. Experts say that they saw the creation of the first specks of planet-forming material around HOPS-315 - hot minerals which are just beginning to minerals were first spotted by the James Webb Space team then used the European Southern Observatory's ALMA telescope to find out exactly where the chemical signals were coming discovered that these minerals were found in a small portion of the disc which is similar to the asteroid belt that surrounds our say that this discovery could allow them to see what the formation of our own Solar System may have been like billions of years ago."We're seeing a system that looks like what our Solar System looked like when it was just beginning to form," study co-author Merel van 't Hoff from Purdue University in America author, Melissa McClure of Leiden University in the Netherlands, added: "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun."
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
History made in space! Astronomers spot a solar system forming for the first time
For the first time, scientists have observed planets forming around a star other than our sun. Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA to observe planet-building material forming near the young star. This stunning discovery may help us understand how our own solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category healthcare Digital Marketing PGDM Operations Management Artificial Intelligence Project Management Degree Cybersecurity Public Policy Finance Data Science MBA Leadership CXO Design Thinking others Management Product Management Data Analytics Technology Healthcare MCA Data Science Others Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIM Lucknow CERT-IIML Healthcare Management India Starts on undefined Get Details Astronomers have observed the first solid materials forming around a young star known as HOPS-315 , the earliest stage of planet formation ever seen outside of our solar system. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like A Truck Driver's Salary in the Canada Might Surprise You Truck Driving Jobs | Search Ads Undo What makes HOPS-315 so special? The emergence of a planetary system that may eventually resemble the solar system has been observed by astronomers. The team was able to determine when the young star HOPS-315, which is about 1,300 light-years away, started to form the specks of material that will eventually form planets. Data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a network of 66 radio telescopes situated in the northern Chilean desert, and observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) enabled the discovery, as per a report by Space. Live Events Melissa McClure, a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and the study's lead author, says, "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun." The study was published in Nature today. 'We're seeing a system that looks like what our Solar System looked like when it was just beginning to form," says co-author Merel van 't Hoff, a professor at Purdue University in the United States, who likens their findings to "a picture of the baby Solar System." The team's findings were released in the journal Nature on Wednesday, July 16, as per a report by ESO. ALSO READ: Massive Walmart layoffs? USA's largest private employer set to axe hundreds of jobs in shock move Around HOPS-315, a "proto" or baby star that is located about 1300 light-years away from us and is comparable to the young Sun, this newborn planetary system is beginning to form. Astronomers frequently observe "protoplanetary discs," which are discs of gas and dust that are the birthplaces of new planets, around such baby stars. But in order to observe the birth of these new "exoplanets," or extrasolar planets, astronomers had to detect protoplanetary disks earlier. How do planets begin to form around stars? Inside meteorites that have fallen to Earth, scientists can find a clue about what they should be searching for in these disks in their early stages. Meteorites are pieces of asteroids that formed during the formation of our solar system's planets 4.6 billion years ago. Meteorites, like those found in the protoplanetary disk around the sun during the early solar system, are rich in crystalline minerals that contain silicon monoxide, which condenses at high temperatures. Could this explain how Earth was born? The team found evidence of hot minerals condensing in the protoplanetary disk whirling around HOPS-315. They specifically found silicon monoxide in crystalline materials and as a gas surrounding this young star. This process has never been observed outside of our solar system or in a protoplanetary disk. ALSO READ: Who is Wilawan Emsawat? Thai woman at the heart of a shocking monk seduction and blackmail scandal Astronomers have discovered evidence that these hot minerals are starting to condense in the disc around HOPS-315. According to their findings, SiO is found both inside these crystalline minerals and surrounding the baby star in its gaseous state, indicating that it is only now starting to solidify. This process has never been observed outside of our Solar System or in a protoplanetary disc. By acting as a stand-in for young solar systems throughout the galaxy, the disc of HOPS-315 offers astronomers a fresh chance to investigate early planet formation and a fantastic analog for researching our own cosmic history. FAQs What did astronomers find near HOPS-315? They discovered early signs of solid materials, which are the basic building blocks of planets. Why is this discovery significant? It helps scientists understand how planets like Earth might have formed billions of years ago.
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First Post
5 hours ago
- Science
- First Post
New worlds in the making: Is this how our solar system was born?
For the first time, astronomers have witnessed the very first solid particles forming around a baby sun-like star, HOPS-315, over 1,300 light-years away. Using Nasa's James Webb Telescope and ALMA in Chile, scientists captured the earliest stage of rocky planet formation — offering a rare, real-time glimpse into how planetary systems like our own begin to emerge read more The breakthrough was made possible with data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an array of 66 radio telescopes located in the desert of northern Chile, and observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Representational Image/Pixabay Astronomers have, for the first time, directly observed the earliest physical conditions in which rocky planets begin to form around a distant, young star. The observations offer clarity into how planetary systems like our own are born — capturing the beginning of planet formation as it unfolds around a protostar known as HOPS-315, located approximately 1,300 to 1,370 light-years away in the Orion constellation. This celestial breakthrough was made possible through coordinated efforts by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD By studying the gaseous and dusty disk around HOPS-315 — a sun-like star still in its infancy — researchers have conclusively identified the condensation of hot mineral grains: the initial building blocks from which planets eventually emerge. The genesis of the solar system HOPS-315 is a young, sun-like protostar believed to be between 100,000 and 200,000 years old, making it one of the youngest known stars to exhibit early planetary formation processes. At this stage, a star is typically surrounded by a thick envelope of gas and dust — residual material from the collapse of the interstellar cloud that birthed it. This structure, known as a protoplanetary disk, is the very environment in which future planets form. Using JWST's infrared capabilities and ALMA's powerful radio imaging, scientists managed to peer through a gap in the outer disk of HOPS-315. This opening, coupled with the favourable tilt of the star's disk toward Earth, allowed for a rare observational window into the hot inner region of the disk where solids begin to emerge. In this region, researchers detected crystalline silicate minerals and silicon monoxide gas — materials that also appear in meteorites on Earth and are considered among the first solids to have condensed in the early solar system. 'We've captured a direct glimpse of the hot region where rocky planets like Earth are born around young protostars,' AP quoted Melissa McClure of Leiden Observatory, who led the international team. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'For the first time, we can conclusively say that the first steps of planet formation are happening right now.' Echoes of our own solar system One of the most significant aspects of this discovery is the detection of silicon monoxide, both in its gaseous form and in crystalline structures. These materials condense only at extremely high temperatures and are thought to be the earliest solids to form in our own solar system over 4.5 billion years ago. 'Meteorites are fragments of asteroids that formed 4.6 billion years ago at the same time that the planets of our solar system were taking shape,' noted the research team. These ancient space rocks contain embedded crystalline minerals rich in silicon, offering scientists a sort of fossil record of solar system formation. Now, the observation of identical mineral signatures in the HOPS-315 disk supports the idea that these high-temperature condensation processes are not unique to our solar system. Instead, they may be a universal characteristic of planet formation around young stars. 'This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disk — or anywhere outside our solar system,' Space quoted Edwin Bergin, a member of the research team from the University of Michigan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The location of these minerals in the HOPS-315 system — at a distance from the star comparable to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 'We're really seeing these minerals at the same location in this extrasolar system as where we see them in asteroids in the solar system,' added Logan Francis, a co-author from Leiden University. How planets were formed The findings offer compelling evidence that the solid particles forming in the disk around HOPS-315 are the earliest precursors to planetesimals — solid bodies that, through gravitational accumulation, coalesce into planets over time. These components, composed of condensed minerals, represent the foundational seeds from which terrestrial planets like Earth and the cores of gas giants such as Jupiter originate. 'We've always known that the first solid parts of planets, or 'planetesimals,' must form further back in time, at earlier stages,' said McClure. Although previous astronomical research has captured images of infant stars surrounded by protoplanetary disks and has detected giant, Jupiter-sized exoplanets embedded within them, these studies have not been able to observe the initial condensation phase — until now. This new data bridges the observational gap between early disk formation and the eventual emergence of full-sized planets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our sun,' McClure added. What this means for Earth-like worlds The discovery around HOPS-315 doesn't just illuminate how planets are born — it provides a critical template for understanding the conditions under which systems like ours evolve. With its young sun-like characteristics, similar disk structure, and mineral composition, HOPS-315 may be the most accurate proxy for our early solar system yet discovered. 'This is one of the things we've been waiting for. Astronomers have been thinking about how planetary systems form for a long period of time,' Fred Ciesla of the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the study, told AP. 'There's a rich opportunity here.' 'We're seeing a system that looks like what our solar system looked like when it was just beginning to form,' said Merel van 't Hoff of Purdue University, a co-author of the study. 'This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our solar system.' Van 't Hoff added that finding more such systems would allow scientists to determine how common Earth-like planets might be across the galaxy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Are there Earth-like planets out there or are we like so special that we might not expect it to occur very often?' she asked. What next in HOPS-315? While the exact number and type of planets that might eventually form around HOPS-315 remains unknown, the current structure of its disk suggests it has the potential to produce a full planetary system, possibly similar in scale to our own solar system. With the clear detection of solid mineral formation underway, astronomers now have the first direct evidence of the chemical and physical processes that precede planet formation. This milestone sets the stage for a new phase of research into the origin of planetary systems, particularly the formation of rocky, potentially habitable worlds. 'This study shows that it could be a common process during the earliest stage of planet formation,' McClure avered. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies
