New Webb discovery: Telescope offers new planet insight

The Webb Space Telescope is continuing to change the way astronomers think about the universe. The latest discovery involves the creation of planets.

The Webb’s medium resolution spectrometer, pointed at the Lobster Nebula 5,500 light-years away from Earth, detected water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, Hydrogen cyanide and acetylene, in a very hot and hostile disk in this massive star-forming complex. These chemicals, along with crystalline silicate dust, are the building blocks for rocky planets.

Previously, scientists only saw these formative substances in star-forming regions where low-mass stars form. Ultra-violet radiation from the Lobster Nebula was believed to affect the development and age of the disk known for creating planets.

Additionally, data from Webb will be studied but scientists believe these new finding suggest rocky planets can form in a wider range of environments.

Previously, the Webb telescope has provided new discoveries:

Linkbox 2(1 Year Later: Space Telescope producing amazing images): https://www.weatherandradar.com/weather-news/1-year-later-space-telescope-producing-amazing-images--e0fd8680-e536-4c05-a50a-fb78c96bdb51