Using the joint NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) James Webb Space Telescope, a team of international scientists studied a disk of cosmic material surrounding an extremely low-mass star. The results from the investigation show the richest hydrocarbon chemistry ever observed within a protoplanetary disk, which is a disk of gas, dust, ice, and other material that surrounds a newly formed star wherein planets can form.
The new Webb observations were made as part of the MIRI Mid-Infrared Disk Survey (MINDS), which aims to understand the relation between the chemical inventory of protoplanetary disks and the properties of exoplanets. The results are not only providing the scientists with insight into the environment surrounding extremely young stars, but are also contributing to our understanding of the diversity of exoplanets, stars, and planetary systems.