James Webb Space Telescope Spots Neon Vanishing Around Young Star
Discovery number one for the James Webb Space Telescope is the vanishing neon surrounding a young star.
Image Credit in Google
Image Credit in Google
Telescope observations indicate that how quickly planets must form before the disc dissolves can be inferred from the amount of ionised neon gas present in planet-forming discs.
Image Credit in Google
Though this process takes hundreds of thousands to millions of years, planets are thought to originate in discs of gas and dust surrounding young stars.
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A notable alteration was seen by the telescope in a single planet-forming disc encircling the young star SZ Chamaeleontis (SZ Cha).
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2008 saw the discovery of an infrared emission line linked to doubly ionised neon in the disc of SZ Cha by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
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The presence of doubly ionised neon suggested that extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation predominated over X-rays.
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A notable decline in doubly ionised neon was found in 2023 during follow-up studies with the James Webb Space Telescope, indicating a dominance of X-ray radiation.
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This discovery may have an effect on how long it takes for planets to form before their discs evaporate.