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. …
Read more “The diverse chemistry of protoplanetary disks as revealed by JWST”
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”
Astronomers excited by first JWST spectra of planetary cradles showing a rich and diverse chemistry. Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have taken a first look at their data that probe the chemistry of the regions of disks around young stars where rocky planets form. Already at that stage, the data reveal the …