New Discovery Provides Insight into Planet Formation

With the involvement of Ágnes Kóspál, a researcher at the Konkoly Thege Miklós Astronomical Institute of the HUN-REN Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, an international team has produced the first detailed map of the molecular layers within a planet-forming disk (preplanetary disk). Using the ALMA antenna array in Chile, the researchers were able to probe the deepest regions of the disk, the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network announced on its website.

Planet-forming disks are flattened clouds of gas and dust that surround young stars and serve as the birthplaces of planets. The disk examined in this study is particularly unique because of its edge-on view from Earth—an orientation that has earned it the nickname “the Flying Saucer.”

Located in the Ophiuchus constellation, 390 light-years away, the “Flying Saucer” disk offers a unique opportunity to study the conditions for planet formation.

Researchers have mapped over a dozen molecules—the basic building blocks of life, consisting of hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen—and determined how high they are in the disk and how far they are from the star.

The observations revealed a complex structure where the temperature drops to -253°C. The researchers discovered where molecules freeze and form ice coatings on dust particles, indicating the potential birthplaces of planetary embryos. They also found evidence that molecules containing heavy hydrogen are concentrated in the deepest layers of the disk, as predicted by theory.

This is a major step forward in understanding how planetary systems form around stars like our Sun,”

said Ágnes Kóspál, research advisor at the Konkoly Thege Miklós Astronomical Institute of the HUN-REN Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences. “By mapping these molecular layers, we can better understand the chemical ingredients and physical conditions necessary for the creation of new planets,” she noted

The findings help refine models of planet formation and provide deeper insight into the origins of planets, including our own Earth.

Via hun-ren.hu, Featured image: Pexels

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