{"id":27564,"date":"2025-07-16T11:00:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=27564"},"modified":"2025-07-15T21:51:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T01:51:24","slug":"eso-observing-the-dawn-of-a-new-solar-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=27564","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Observing the dawn of a new solar system"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO<\/a>):<\/p>\n

For the first time, astronomers witness
\nthe dawn of a new solar system<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This is HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. The image was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. Together with data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations show that hot minerals are beginning to solidify. In orange we see the distribution of carbon monoxide, blowing away from the star in a butterfly-shaped wind. In blue we see a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, also beaming away from the star. These gaseous winds and jets are common around baby stars like HOPS-315. Together the ALMA and JWST observations indicate that, in addition to these features, there is also a disc of gaseous silicon monoxide around the star that is condensing into solid silicates \u2013\u2013 the first stages of planetary formation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star beyond the Sun. Using the ALMA telescope, in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and the James Webb Space Telescope, they have observed the creation of the first specks of planet-forming material \u2014 hot minerals just beginning to solidify. This finding marks the first time a planetary system has been identified at such an early stage in its formation and opens a window to the past of our own Solar System.<\/p>\n

“For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun<\/em>,\u201d<\/p>\n

says Melissa McClure, a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the new study, published today in Nature<\/em>.<\/p>\n