Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Credit : NASA
NASA's James Webb Telescope uncovers a "planet factory" in Orion, where young stars and dusty disks shape new worlds—redefining how fast planets can form.
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A dense 30-million-year-old star cluster filled with protoplanetary disks churns out planets faster than previously thought, reshaping planet formation timelines.
Credit : NASA
Infrared eyes of James Webb pierce thick cosmic dust, revealing planet creation processes invisible to any other telescope.
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Contradicting old theories, planets may form rapidly—within tens of millions of years, not billions—thanks to evidence from this newly discovered planet-making region.
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Scientists study swirling disks of gas and dust around newborn stars, observing firsthand how planets gather their raw ingredients inside chaotic cosmic environments.
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Nearby stars' intense radiation and gravitational forces sculpt and shift these disks, influencing whether planets can grow or collapse.
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Traditional models saying planets take eons to form are now questioned as Webb's discovery shows planet-making can happen on surprisingly short cosmic timescales.
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By analyzing gas and dust, researchers also search for organic molecules in disks—potential building blocks of life—suggesting early planets may start richer in life's ingredients than imagined.
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This discovery offers a window into how other solar systems—and maybe habitable exoplanets—begin, revolutionizing how we search for life in the universe.
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