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6d ago

Astronomers Capture First Solid Grain Formation in Young Star’s Planetary Disk

The discovery of silicon monoxide crystallizing at 2.2 AU from HOPS-315 reveals the initial step of rocky planet formation

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.
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Overview

  • Lead author Melissa McClure and her team published their results in Nature on July 17, 2025, documenting the breakthrough observation
  • NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and ESO’s ALMA array detected hot silicon monoxide gas transitioning into crystalline silicate minerals
  • HOPS-315 is a 100,000- to 200,000-year-old protostar located about 1,300 light-years away in the Orion constellation
  • The disk’s favorable, edge-on orientation allowed ALMA to isolate the condensation zone without interference from stellar outflows
  • Researchers say this real-time glimpse of planetesimal building will refine models of Solar System origins and guide searches for other nascent systems