Key Points
- Astronomers have found the earliest-ever evidence of rocky planet formation.
- The discovery was made using the Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile.
- They detected solid mineral specks condensing from hot gas around a young, sun-like star, named HOPS-315, which is only about 100,000 years old.
- This suggests that the formation of Earth and our solar system may be a common process throughout the universe.
Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming around a young, sun-like star, providing an unprecedented glimpse into how our solar system may have originated. Scientists are calling it a “time zero” snapshot —the very first moment when new worlds begin to come together.
The findings provide a rare look into the inner dynamics of a developing planetary system, said Fred Ciesla of the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the study published in the Nature journal.
Using the powerful Webb Space Telescope and the ALMA telescope in Chile, an international team spotted these building blocks around a baby star called HOPS-315. They detected solid specks of crystalline silicate minerals—the raw ingredients for planets like Earth—condensing from hot gas. This is all happening in a region similar to the asteroid belt in our solar system.
This is the first time scientists have directly seen this initial step. Lead researcher Melissa McClure explained that, until now, they had not known if this was a common process or just something “weird” that happened when our solar system was formed. “Our study shows that it could be a common process during the earliest stage of planet formation,” she said.
The star, HOPS-315, is only about 100,000 years old and is 1,370 light-years away. While it’s impossible to know for certain, researchers say it has enough material to potentially form a system with eight planets, just like our own. The discovery helps astronomers tackle the ultimate question: Are Earth-like planets common, or are we a rare occurrence in the galaxy?
