With the advent of JWST, we are acquiring unprecedented insights into the physical and chemical structure of the inner regions of planet-forming disks where terrestrial planet formation occurs. Very low-mass stars (VLMSs) are known to have a high occurrence of the terrestrial planets orbiting them. Exploring the chemical composition of the gas in these inner …
Understanding the physical conditions of circumstellar material around young stars is crucial to star and planet formation studies. In particular, very low-mass stars (M★ < 0.2 M⊙) are interesting sources to characterize as they are known to host a diverse population of rocky planets. Molecular and atomic hydrogen lines can probe the properties of the …
NASA press Release ESA Press Release Astrobiology Very-low-mass stars (those less than 0.3 solar masses) host orbiting terrestrial planets more frequently than other types of stars. The compositions of those planets are largely unknown but are expected to relate to the protoplanetary disk in which they form. We used James Webb Space Telescope mid-infrared spectroscopy …
Read more “Abundant hydrocarbons in the disk around a very-low-mass star”
The MINDS hybrid pipeline is based on the JWST pipeline and routines from the VIP package (ascl:1603.003) for the reduction of JWST MIRI-MRS data. The pipeline compensates for some of the known weaknesses of the official JWST pipeline to improve the quality of spectrum extracted from MIRI-MRS data. This is done by leveraging the capabilities …
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The MRS mode of the JWST-MIRI instrument has been shown to be a powerful tool to characterise the molecular gas emission of the inner region of planet-forming disks. Here, we analyse the spectrum of the compact T-Tauri disk DR Tau, which is complemented by high spectral resolution (R~60000-90000) CO ro-vibrational observations. Various molecular species, including …
The study of protoplanetary disks has become increasingly important with the Kepler satellite finding that exoplanets are ubiquitous around stars in our galaxy and the discovery of enormous diversity in planetary system architectures and planet properties. High-resolution near-IR and ALMA images show strong evidence for ongoing planet formation in young disks. The JWST MIRI mid-INfrared …
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 …
Read more “MINDS: JWST/NIRCam imaging of the protoplanetary disk PDS 70”
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) …
Read more “MINDS. JWST-MIRI Reveals a Dynamic Gas-Rich Inner Disk Inside the Cavity of SY Cha”
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”