Overview
- Using JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument, astronomers tracked EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula about 1,300 light-years away through quiet and eruptive phases, detecting crystalline silicate features only during bursts.
- Spectra identified forsterite and enstatite forming in the hot inner protoplanetary disk before appearing farther out as dust migrated away from the star.
- Layered outflows and disk winds during roughly 100-day eruptions, which recur about every 18 months, transported the newly formed crystals toward the cold outer disk.
- The observations help resolve why distant, icy comets contain minerals that require intense heat, offering a concrete formation-and-transport pathway.
- The team reported the results in Nature and plans SPHEREx searches for additional eruptive protostars to test how common this process is.