Context. Two protoplanets have recently been discovered within the PDS 70 protoplanetary disk. JWST/NIRCam offers a unique opportunity to characterize them and their birth environment at wavelengths difficult to access from the ground. Aims. We aim to image the circumstellar environment of PDS 70 at 1.87 μm and 4.83 μm, assess the presence of Pa-α …
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope are exposing the pathways that water takes to reach terrestrial planets Original article at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jwst-is-tracking-down-the-cosmic-origins-of-earths-water/?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social Astronomers have long wondered how Earth became water-rich—bountiful with abyssal oceans, frigid glaciers and rain that pours from the sky into lakes, rivers and wetlands. Water, which is composed of the first …
Read more “JWST Is Tracking Down the Cosmic Origins of Earth’s Water”
SY Cha is a T Tauri star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk with a large cavity seen in the millimeter continuum but has the spectral energy distribution (SED) of a full disk. Here we report the first results from JWST-MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) observations taken as part of the MIRI mid-INfrared Disk Survey (MINDS) …
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MIRI/MRS on board the JWST allows us to probe the inner regions of protoplanetary disks. Here we examine the disk around the classical T Tauri star Sz 98, which has an unusually large dust disk in the millimetre with a compact core. We focus on the H2O emission through both its ro-vibrational and pure rotational …
Read more “MINDS. Abundant water and varying C/O across the disk of Sz 98 as seen by JWST/MIRI”
Original Interview at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02922-w How worlds are born: JWST reveals exotic chemistry of planetary nurseries The telescope is delivering a cascade of insights about the ‘protoplanetary’ disks where planets take shape. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is aweing scientists and the public alike with its spectacular images of distant galaxies and its discoveries of …
Original press release at: https://www.mpg.de/20541783/water-rocky-planets?c=2249 JWST observations find water for the first time in the inner disk around a young star with giant planets. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the MPIA-ledMINDS research collaboration discovered water in the inner region of a disk of gas and dust around the young star PDS70. Astronomers expect terrestrial …
Read more “Water discovered in rocky planet-forming zone offers clues on habitability.”
Original press releases at: https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/webb-detects-water-vapor-in-rocky-planet-forming-zone/ https://esawebb.org/news/weic2318/ Webb detects water vapour in rocky planet-forming zone 24 July 2023 New measurements by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) have detected water vapour in the inner disc of the system PDS 70, located 370 light-years away. This is the first detection of water in the …
Early results from the James Webb Space Telescope-Mid-InfraRed Instrument (JWST-MIRI) guaranteed time programs on protostars (JOYS) and disks (MINDS) are presented. Thanks to the increased sensitivity, spectral and spatial resolution of the MIRI spectrometer, the chemical inventory of the planet-forming zones in disks can be investigated with unprecedented detail across stellar mass range and age. …
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The understanding of planet formation has changed recently, embracing the new idea of pebble accretion. This means that the influx of pebbles from the outer regions of planet-forming disks to their inner zones could determine the composition of planets and their atmospheres. The solid and molecular components delivered to the planet-forming region can be best …
An international team of astronomers including several Dutch researchers has observed the benzene molecule (C6H6) in a planet-forming disk around a young star for the first time. Besides benzene, they saw many other, smaller carbon compounds and few oxygen-rich molecules. The observations suggest that, like our own Earth, the rocky planets forming in this disc …
Read more “Astronomers spot benzene in planet-forming disk around star for first time”