The formation of stars, and their planetary systems is one of the oldest scientific questions of humanity. The largest optical, infrared, and radio telescopes reveal the structure of the circumstellar dust and gas disks around young stars. Observations combined with computer simulations will lead to understanding the formation of our Solar system and the stunning diversity of exoplanetary systems.
Two important results:
The building blocks of planets in the disk of a young star as seen by the JWST
Kóspál, Á., Ábrahám, P., Diehl, L. et al. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 945, Issue 1, id. L7, 7 pp. 2023, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...945L...7K/abstract
Infrared spectrum of EX Lupi taken by the James Webb space telescope (source: Kóspál et al., 2023)
EX Lupi is a young Sun-like star that occasionally undergoes outbursts powered by enhanced mass accretion. We obtained a mid-infrared spectrum of EX Lupi with the James Webb Space Telescope, which revealed a forest of emission lines from molecules important for the development of life, such as water, carbon monoxide, acetylene, and hydrogen cyanide. The spectrum also showed emission bands from crystalline silicates which were created in EX Lupi's outburst in 2008. The crystals are now located close to the snowline and may be incorporated into proto-asteroids and proto-comets.
A disk around the L1551 IRS5 young binary system seen by the ALMA radiotelescope
Cruz-Sáenz de Miera, F., Kóspál, Á., Ábrahám, P. et al. Resolved ALMA Continuum Image of the Circumbinary Ring and Circumstellar Disks in the L1551 IRS 5 System, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 882, Issue 1, article id. L4, 7 pp. 2019, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ApJ...882L...4C/abstract
Az L1551 IRS születőfélben lévő kettőscsillagrendszer 1.3 mm-es hullámhosszon felvett ALMA-képe (forrás: Cruz-Sáenz de Miera és mtsai, 2019).
L1551 IRS 5 is a proto-binary located in the Taurus star formation region 470 light years away from the Sun. The separation between the two protostars is approximately the same size as Pluto's orbit, and they are surrounded by a circumbinary ring of dust and gas that feeds them the material that will eventually become part of them.