First in history: A solar system was observed at birth
This groundbreaking discovery, published in the journal Nature, has captured for the first time the exact moment a planetary system begins to form, offering scientists a window into the birth of our own solar system.
THE FIRST SPARKS AROUND THE NEWBORN STARResearchers studied a young star called HOPS-315. Around this star lies a protoplanetary disk of gas and dust, where planets are known to form. Using the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), they observed the transition of a compound called silicon monoxide (SiO) from a gaseous state to a solid crystalline state within this disk. This transformation is considered the first physical step in planet formation.
THE INFANT STATE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEMLead author Melissa McClure (Leiden University) emphasized the significance of this discovery, saying, "For the first time, we've captured the exact moment when planet formation began around a star other than the Sun." According to the research, the minerals that form the basic building blocks of rocky planets like Earth may have formed in the same way at the beginning of the Solar System.
These minerals, which began to crystallize around HOPS-315, are also found in meteorites from billions of years ago in the solar system. Merel van't Hoff of Purdue University described this scene as "a snapshot of the infant solar system."
CODES OF PLANETARY BIRTHThe region where the minerals formed corresponds to the distance of the asteroid belt in the solar system. This is no coincidence; it's the exact location where planet formation is expected.
The formation process works as follows: Silicon monoxide, which exists as a high-temperature gas near a young star, decreases in temperature as it moves away from the star, and the gas crystallizes. Over time, these crystals cling together and form planetesimals, which can reach kilometers in size. These are the building blocks of planets.
A SCIENTIFIC TURNING POINTThis observation had never been directly observed before in a protoplanetary disk or anywhere outside the Solar System. The James Webb Telescope detected the chemical signatures of these crystalline minerals, while the ALMA telescope revealed the precise location of these minerals around the star. The observations also revealed carbon monoxide emitting from the star in a butterfly pattern, while silicon monoxide erupted in narrow jets. Most strikingly, it became clear that this gas was actively transforming into solid crystals.
This discovery is also of great importance in understanding how common Earth-like planets may be in the universe.
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