Astronomers have observed the protostar HOPS-315 using the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA, unveiling early planetary creation about 1,400 light-years away in the Orion constellation. HOPS-315, with a mass of 0.6 solar masses, is anticipated to evolve into a sun-like star, serving as an insightful analog for studying solar system origins. The ongoing observations have pierced obscuring materials surrounding the star, revealing detailed structures, including a protoplanetary disk, where planetesimals begin to form from smaller crystalline minerals as gas cools.
The James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA have observed the protostar HOPS-315, revealing the early moments of planetary creation in a protoplanetary disk about 1,400 light-years away in Orion.
HOPS-315, weighing 0.6 solar mass, is expected to become a star akin to our sun, making it an ideal candidate for exploring the early history of our solar system.
Observations revealed a protoplanetary disk surrounding HOPS-315, where planetesimals form from smaller grains of crystalline minerals as the disk's gas cools, a previously obscured process.
For generations, astronomers have struggled to understand the formation of planetesimals due to the obscuring clouds around protostars, which conceal their details.
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