In a cradle of stars identified in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy of the Milky Way, the basic ingredients from which planets are born have been observed: those microscopic grains of dust that gradually join together to form bodies like the Earth. The discovery, published in the journal Nature Astronomy and led by the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh with the collaboration also of the National Institute of Astrophysics, was possible thanks to the data collected by the James Webb space telescope, of NASA, the European and Canadian Space Agency and allows to understand how planets can form even in galaxies poor in the necessary materials.
Planets start out as microscopic specks of dust that, over time, form first to pebbles and then to rocky planetesimals (objects at the base of planets and asteroids). The planetesimals then collide with each other to create planetary nuclei, the central part of a planet or satellite. For this formation process, elements such as silicon, magnesium, aluminum and iron are necessary, but they are found in rather scarce quantities in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
To understand how planets can form even in these conditions, the researchers led by Olivia Jones observed hundreds of young stars, exploiting the ability of the JWST to detect the thermal radiation emitted by hot dust grains. In this way, the authors of the study discovered traces of dust orbiting the young stars: this means that the planets will probably form in tandem with the stars, as they mature.
The collected data also indicate that the abundance of the building blocks for planets in this dwarf galaxy is similar to that of much more distant galaxies, which date back to about 11-12 billion years ago. Therefore, the formation of planets could have already begun in this remote epoch of the universe.
Source: Ansa
I am a journalist with over 6 years of experience working in the news industry. I currently work as an author for Global Happenings, and my coverage focuses on Technology news. I have written for various publications, including Reuters, The New York Times and The Guardian.
