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Space
Space
Science
Robert Lea

Rocky, carbon-rich exoplanets more likely around tiny stars, James Webb Space Telescope reveals

A glowing yellow orb in the center of the screen surrounded a disk of gassy material.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered the richest "menu" of hydrocarbons ever seen in a planet-forming disk. This observation, which involved the protoplanetary disk around a tiny star, also revealed the first detection of ethane outside the solar system.

The discovery was made when the Mid-Infrared instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) investigated the object "ISO-ChaI 147" as part of the Mid-Infrared Disk Survey (MINDS). ISO-ChaI 147 is a young star located in the Chameleon I star-forming region of around 237 stars. This region is located around 600 light-years away.

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