PDS 70 Archives

Artist’s impression of a protoplanetary disk around a very low-mass star. It depicts a selection of hydrocarbon molecules (Methane, CH4; Ethane, C2H6; Ethylene, C2H2; Diacetylene, C4H2; Propyne, C3H4; Benzene, C6H6) detected in the disk around ISO-ChaI 147. © ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) / MPIA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Planet-forming Disks Around Very Low-mass Stars Are Different

by Keith CowingJune 7, 2024June 7, 2024

Planets form in disks of gas and dust, orbiting young stars. The MIRI Mid-INfrared Disk Survey (MINDS), led by Thomas Henning from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in […]

The architecture of the PDS 70 system. a, Schematic representation of the locations of the inner and outer disk of PDS 70 indicated as teal and blue ellipses. The protoplanets PDS 70 b and PDS 70 c are shown as blue dots. b, Main components of the schematic of the system on top of a MIRI-MRS IFU image at 7.0 µm, illustrating the size of the system with respect to the 2.5-FWHM aperture used for spectro-photometric extraction (white circle). The latter linearly increases with wavelength. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report

Water In The Terrestrial planet-forming Zone Of The PDS 70 Disk

by Keith CowingJuly 25, 2023July 25, 2023

Terrestrial and sub-Neptune planets are expected to form in the inner (<10 AU) regions of protoplanetary disks.

This artist’s concept portrays the star PDS 70 and its inner protoplanetary disk. New measurements by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected water vapor at distances of less than 100 million miles from the star – the region where rocky, terrestrial planets may be forming. This is the first detection of water in the terrestrial region of a disk already known to host two or more protoplanets, one of which is shown at upper right. -- NASA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Press Release

Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-Forming Zone

by Keith CowingJuly 24, 2023July 24, 2023

Water is essential for life as we know it. However, scientists debate how it reached the Earth and whether the same processes could seed rocky exoplanets orbiting distant stars. New […]