Planets might be more common throughout the Universe than previously thought, according to results from the James Webb Space Telescope
Researchers looked at NGC 346, a highly active star-forming region in a galaxy near the Milky Way called the Small Magellanic Cloud . They chose this place because it has a very low concentration of metals — which astronomers define as any element heavier than hydrogen and helium.
But it had been challenging to study the birth of low-mass stars because they emit a lot of dust as they form, which hides their light. The best way to see through the dust is by capturing infrared light, something JWST’s predecessor, the, wasn’t built to do. “With Webb, you can see these stars right at that moment of being born,” says Jones.
Spotting the ingredients for planets in NGC 346 broadens understanding of where planets can exist, says Stefanie Milam, deputy project scientist for JWST planetary science at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s giving us a lot more area to start searching for planet formation and star formation beyond what we had originally presumed.”
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