Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany have detected water and carbon near a massive young star far into space. This suggests that habitable planets may form in the harshest regions of our Milky Way galaxy. The research was published in the official gazette Web site scientific institution.
When massive young stars explode among clouds of cosmic dust, they render the surrounding space uninhabitable for any life through powerful explosions and intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation. But a new study has shown that even in such conditions, planets containing the materials necessary for life can emerge.
Astronomers examined the region NGC 6357, which is approximately 5.5 thousand light-years away from Earth. NGC 6357 contains more than ten ultra-luminous and massive stars; This indicates that much of the material in the cluster was exposed to high levels of UV radiation.
It was previously thought that the intensity of ultraviolet radiation from massive stars would prevent the formation of Earth-like planets by interfering with the distribution of dust and gas in planetary disks.
Scientists discovered the planet XUE-1 orbiting a star approximately the size of our Sun in NGC 6357. Analysis of XUE-1 showed that it already contained water and organic carbon molecules. James Webb found traces of carbon monoxide and acetylene, as well as water and carbon dioxide, in the inner region of the planetary disk, as well as silicate dust, which plays an important role in the formation of planets.
Researchers hope to learn more about the possible existence of life in NGC 6357 in the future.
Previously, astronomers for the first time to create Stars in the vast Magellanic Stream, a gas belt between the Milky Way and neighboring galaxies.
Source: Gazeta
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