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New images from Webb Telescope could help in understanding how planets are formed

Artist conception of the James Webb Space Telescope
NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez
Artist conception of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Newly formed stars are often surrounded by swirling disks of hot gas and dust. The mechanics of these disks can elude astronomers.

New imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope offers insights into these planetary incubators.

Over time, the particles in these protoplanetary disks are brought together through gravity. Those bundles grow bigger and bigger until, eventually, objects like planets and asteroids are formed.

The team of researchers, including some with the University of Arizona, were able to trace the “winds” of these disks with unprecedented detail using the James Webb Space Telescope.

Stars eat some of the matter in these disks and grow, and the team says those winds could play a big role in solar system development.

The paper, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, says understanding the mechanics at play can be the key to unlocking how planets are formed and move.

Greg Hahne started as a news intern at KJZZ in 2020 and returned as a field correspondent in 2021. He learned his love for radio by joining Arizona State University's Blaze Radio, where he worked on the production team.