SpaceLifeForm (@SpaceLifeForm@infosec.exchange)

The very first step to making planets is the formation of crystals of silicon monoxide. They stick together to build bigger & bigger things, until eventually planets emerge around a young star.

And now we've witnessed that step--the moment when a new planetary system is born.

https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2512/ #space #science #astronomy #nature

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 –– the first stages of planetary formation.

Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.

ALT

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@coreyspowell

But why does the hydrogen and helium want to all hang out together and let the heavy metal (rock bands) party outside?

Maybe the noise is too loud.

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