CT Cha b Archives

An artistic rendering of a dust and gas disk encircling the young exoplanet, CT Cha b, 625 light-years from Earth. Spectroscopic data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope suggests the disk contains the raw materials for moon formation: diacetylene, hydrogen cyanide, propyne, acetylene, ethane, carbon dioxide, and benzene. The planet appears at lower right, while its host star and surrounding circumstellar disk are visible in the background. Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Gabriele Cugno (University of Zürich, NCCR PlanetS), Sierra Grant (Carnegie Institution for Science), Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI)

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Webb Studies A Carbon-rich Moon-Forming Disk Around A Massive Planet

by Keith CowingSeptember 30, 2025September 30, 2025

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided the first direct measurements of the chemical and physical properties of a potential moon-forming disk encircling a large exoplanet. The carbon-rich disk surrounding […]

CT Cha b

Webb Studies A Carbon-rich Moon-Forming Disk Around A Massive Planet

PJ Harvey Announces New Song “Voyager”

Fifty Years after Viking: The Promise of Solar System Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

Characterising Transiting Exoplanets At Long Orbital Period: Lessons Learned For PLATO From 10 Years Of Monitoring The HIP41378 System

Implications Of Self-consistent H2O Ice Optical Constants On Radiative Transfer Models Of Disks

The GAPS Programme at TNG LXXIV. A Reanalysis Of The Planetary Systems TOI-1272 And TOI-1694 With HARPS-N And Retraction Of The Planetary Interpretation Of TOI-1272 c