Astronomers conduct first search for emerging planet with new space telescope

Planets form in the form of disks of dust and gas, called protoplanetary disks, that swirl around a central protostar during final assembly. Although dozens of such disks have been photographed, only two planets have been observed forming. Astronomers are now pointing powerful instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope at protoplanetary disks to learn how planets form and what effects those planets have on their natal disks. I’m trying to find early clues as to what gives. In a study published in the Astronomical Journal, researchers discovered previously unknown interactions between planet-forming disks and shells of gas and dust surrounding young stars at the center of protoplanetary disks. were connected. capture the planet The U-M study, led by U-M astronomer Gabriele Cugno, zeroed in on the disk surrounding a protostar called SAO 206462. There, researchers may have discovered a planet candidate forming in the protoplanetary disk, but it wasn’t the planet they were expecting. “Some simulations suggest that the planet is inside a disk and should be huge, large, hot and bright.” But we didn’t find it. “This means that either the Earth is much colder than we think, or that the Earth is covered in material that we can’t see,” said Cunho, who also co-authored all three papers. Ta. “We found another planet candidate, but we can’t say with 100% certainty whether it’s a planet or a dark background star or galaxy contaminating the image.” Future observations will help us understand exactly what we’re seeing. ” Observatory. “We have already started investigating other young systems with known planets to get a more complete picture.” But to the researchers’ surprise, JWST revealed unexpected details of another feature. It’s a protostar shell, which Leisenring says is essentially a dense influx of dust and gas surrounding a young star that is just beginning to merge. Under the influence of gravity, material from the interstellar medium falls inside the stars and disks, where it serves as the raw material for planets and their ancestors. The Arizona study, led by Kevin Wagner, a NASA Hubble/Sagan researcher at the Arizona Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, examined the protoplanetary disk of MWC 758. Similar to SAO 206462, previous observations by the Arizona-led team showed spiral arms forming within the disk. , suggesting a massive planet orbiting its parent star. Although recent observations have not discovered any new planets in the disk, researchers say this sensitivity is groundbreaking and allows them to impose the strictest constraints yet on suspected planets. say: On the one hand, this result rules out the presence of additional planets in the outer region of MWC 758 and is consistent with a single giant planet powering the spiral arms. “The lack of planets discovered in all three systems suggests that the planets causing the gaps and spiral arms are either too close to their host stars or too faint to be seen by JWST. said Wagner, co-author of all three systems. I will study. “If the latter is true, as was the case with MWC 758, it would mean they have relatively low mass, low temperature, are covered in dust, or some combination of the three.” The search for emerging planets continues Observing the process of planet formation is important because it allows astronomers to obtain information not only about the formation process but also about the distribution of chemical elements within the planetary system. “Only about 15 percent of stars like the Sun have planets like Jupiter.” “Understanding how they form and evolve and refining the theory is critical,” said Professor Michael Meyer, an astronomer at California State University and co-author of all three studies. said. “Some astronomers believe that these gas giants regulate the water supply to the rocky planets that form inside their disks.” Knowing how these giant gas disks form will ultimately help astronomers understand the properties and evolution of protoplanetary disks that later form rocky, Earth-like planets. Meyer said. “Basically, in every disk we observed with sufficiently high resolution and sensitivity, we observed large structures such as gaps, rings, and in the case of SAO 206462, spirals,” Cunyo said. “Most, if not all, of these structures can be explained by the formation of planets interacting with the disk material, but there are other explanations that do not suggest the presence of giant planets.”

source: https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad11d5