Universetoday.com | NASA/ESA/CSA | 2023 Nov 26
"... A team of astronomers have turned JWST onto NGC 6357 to probe deep inside the nebula. The area under scrutiny hosts numerous massive OB stars, among them the most massive stars in the Galaxy. The team targeted 15 disks in three areas hoping it would help understand the impact of environment on planet formation. They studied a disk known as ‘XUE 1’ and explored its inner disk (within 10 astronomical units – 1 AU is the average distance between the Sun and Moon). In their paper they report on the abundance of water, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and acetylene to a distance of within 1 astronomical unit – this would be impossible without JWST.
The findings reveal that water and other molecules are present in the inner regions of the disk where the terrestrial planets might form. This is in a region which is perhaps one of the most extreme environments in the Galaxy. It shows that the conditions for terrestrial planet formation is as likely in high mass star forming regions as it is in low mass! ..."
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Arxiv paper
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