Astronomers in the Netherlands witness dawn of new solar system
ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.
By Simone Jacobs
For the first time ever, Dutch astronomers have witnessed the moment when planets begin to form around a star. A new study reports their findings on the birth of a new solar system 13,000 light-years away.
Dutch scientists identify emergence of new solar system
Using the ALMA telescope in Chile and the James Webb Space Telescope, Dutch researchers have identified a new planetary system developing around HOPS-315, a star located around 13.000 light-years away. “For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our sun,” Melissa McClure, researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the new study, told Nature.
Around baby stars like HOPS-315, astronomers often see discs of gas and dust known as “protoplanetary discs” from which planets emerge. From studying meteorites, astronomers have found that silicon monoxide minerals in these discs condense at extremely high temperatures, kicking off the process of planet formation.
According to the European Southern Observatory (ESO), a partner of the ALMA telescope, Dutch astronomers have discovered evidence of silicon monoxide in its gaseous state and crystalline minerals in the disc around HOPS-315. This suggests solidification has just begun and that a new solar system has been born.
New discovery shows how our solar system formed
Co-author of the study and professor at Purdue University in the US, Merel van ‘t Hoff has compared their findings to “a picture of the baby solar system… we’re seeing a system that looks like what our solar system looked like when it was beginning to form.” By observing the process, researchers can gain a better understanding of our own cosmic history.
“This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our solar system," said van ‘t Hoff. It also gives astronomers more opportunities to study early planet formation by standing in as a substitute for newborn solar systems across the galaxy.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more