Astronomers discover that rocky planets can form in extreme environments | History Channel Brasil

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have observed water and other molecules in one of the most extreme environments in our galaxy for the first time. The results suggest that the conditions for the formation of rocky planets could occur in a wider range of environments than previously believed. A study on the discovery was published in the scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal.

Planet-forming disks

The study presents the first results of a program that focuses in the study of planet-forming disks in massive star-forming regions. These disks are vast, rotating clumps of gas, dust and rock fragments where planets form and evolve. According to NASA, these stellar regions likely represent the environment in which most planetary systems formed.

The program, called XUE – eXtreme Ultraviolet Environments, analyzes 15 discs in three areas of the Lobster Nebula, located about 5,500 light years away from Earth, in the constellation Scorpius. This nebula, one of the youngest massive star-forming complexes, is home to some of the largest stars in our galaxy. The first studies address the protoplanetary disk called XUE 1.

When observing this environment considered extreme, the team detected a variety of molecules considered the building blocks of rocky planets. “We found that the inner disk around XUE 1 is surprisingly similar to those found in neighboring star-forming regions,” said Rens Waters of Radboud University in the Netherlands. “We detected water and other molecules such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide and acetylene,” he said.

“We were surprised and excited because this is the first time these molecules have been detected under these extreme conditions”, added Lars Cuijpers from Radboud University. According to scientists, conditions in the inner disk resemble those found in well-studied disks located in neighboring star-forming regions, where only low-mass stars form. This suggests that rocky planets can form in a much wider range of environments than previously believed.