Planet formation is a complicated and long process. Scientists have been trying to understand the numerous underlying processes that govern the planet’s formation.

And the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has come to their aid.

Webb has captured the first image of “winds” coming from a planet-forming disk that is relatively old.

Researchers from the University of Arizona and the SETI Institute used the Webb to study a disk surrounding the young star TCha.

The dispersing gas
TCha is a relatively young star compared to our majestic Sun.

It is positioned within an eroding disk with a large dust gap of around 30 astronomical units in radius.

The disk was spotted “actively dispersing its gas content,” or simply winds.

The dispersing gas was imaged with the help of four lines of the noble gases neon (Ne) and argon (Ar).

The neon line was first spotted in 2007 using the Spitzer Space Telescope. The experts identified the line as the indicator of winds.

In this new study, the team went on to find the reason behind the formation of these dispersing gas winds.

“These winds could be driven either by high-energy stellar photons (the star’s light) or by the magnetic field that weaves the planet-forming disk,” said Naman Bajaj, who led the study from the University of Arizona.

The researchers state that this finding could expand their understanding of the planet’s formation.

“Knowing when the gas disperses is important as it constrains the time left for nascent planets to consume the gas from their surroundings,” the press release mentioned.

Insights into planet formation
Moreover, the findings could provide insights into the underlying process that led to the evolution of planets in our solar system.

Our solar system includes both rock and gas-rich planets. The inner planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars — are rocky. Meanwhile, the outer four planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, are gas giants.

However, it has been hypothesized that the initial mass in planet-forming disks is mostly gaseous.

This raises a perplexing question: when and how does this gas disperse, influencing the outcome of planet formation?

“The implications of these findings offer new insights into the complex interactions that lead to the dispersal of the gas and dust critical for planet formation. By understanding the mechanisms behind disk dispersal, scientists can better predict the timelines and environments conducive to the birth of planets,” the press release explained.

The researchers also ran simulations to understand better the dispersal caused by stellar photons.

The simulations were compared to the real data.

The simulations confirmed that the finding is explained by the dispersion induced by high-energy stellar photons.

The measurement of all four lines by JWST also provided insights into the amount of gas being dispersed.

It is estimated that the mass dispersing per year is comparable to that of the moon.

The findings were published in the Astronomical Journal.