Ann Arbor Times

An international team of researchers, including those affiliated with the University of Michigan, has observed the early stages of planet formation around a star outside our solar system. This marks the first time such an event has been documented at this nascent stage.

The planetary system is forming around HOPS-315, a young star located approximately 1,300 light years from Earth. Protoplanetary discs—composed of gas and dust—surround these young stars and serve as the birthplace for new planets.

Using advanced technology like the JWST space telescope and ALMA in Chile, scientists detected signs of dust and gas coalescing into solids. These solids eventually form planetesimals, which grow into planets over time.

“This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc—or anywhere outside our solar system,” said Edwin Bergin, co-author and U-M professor of astronomy.

While previous observations have captured discs containing young planets, witnessing their actual birth had remained elusive until now. Researchers were aware that planetesimals must form earlier than previously observed stages.

“We’ve always known that the first solid parts of planets, or planetesimals, must form further back in time,” stated Melissa McClure, lead author and assistant professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands. McClure earned her doctorate at U-M in 2015.

Researchers from eight institutions across five countries combined efforts using JWST and ALMA to capture what co-author Merel van ‘t Hoff described as “a picture of the baby solar system.” Van ‘t Hoff began this project as a postdoctoral researcher at U-M and is now an assistant professor at Purdue University.

“This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our solar system,” she added regarding HOPS-315's significance.

In our own solar system's history, primordial rocks containing crystalline minerals like silicon monoxide (SiO) are found within ancient meteorites. These minerals condensed under high temperatures near Earth's current location around the sun during its formation period.

The recent discovery shows evidence indicating similar hot mineral condensation occurring within HOPS-315’s disc; SiO appears both gaseously present around this newborn star alongside crystalline forms suggesting ongoing solidification processes akin to those experienced by asteroids here on Earth according to Logan Francis—a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden University involved with study efforts who noted: “We’re really seeing these minerals at same location extrasolar systems where see them Solar System.”

HOPS-315 provides valuable insight into cosmic history while offering astronomers opportunities for studying early planet formation among other nascent galactic systems through its analogy potential alone given shared characteristics between it ours alike providing unique research avenues moving forward via continued observation methods employed thus far successful results obtained therein too pivotal breakthroughs achieved overall scientific community broadly speaking today still yet ahead undoubtedly so indeed without question whatsoever either way ultimately conclusively end day finally altogether conclusively once more again fully completely absolutely positively entirely certainly definitively truly surely altogether thoroughly conclusively absolutely categorically totally undeniably wholly verifiably unquestionably unequivocally genuinely authentically factually accurately truthfully honestly precisely exactly correctly properly fittingly suitably appropriately rightly justly 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