A new study using the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a protoplanetary disk surrounding one of its target stars, as well as a companion nebular environment. The data, obtained with the NIRSpec instrument, shows two distinct spectra: one from the star and another from the background environment.
The star’s spectrum highlights hot atomic helium, cold molecular hydrogen, and hot atomic hydrogen. In contrast, the background spectrum lacks the molecular hydrogen line, indicating that this gas is not coming from the nebular environment surrounding the star.
When comparing the two spectra, a significant peak in cold molecular hydrogen is observed coming from the star, while atomic hydrogen shows an even larger peak. This suggests that the star is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, comprising material that will eventually form planets.
The study’s findings provide valuable insights into the formation of planetary systems and offer a unique opportunity to observe the early stages of planetary development in action.
Source: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2024/135/01JBCNPTQ0XN9WFXA1R9VXQ9BC?news=true