“It’s our sun 4.6 billion years ago”

Imagine being able to go back in time. Therefore, observe our emerging solar system, when the sun was still only a 100,000 -year -old baby surrounded by a disc of gas and swirling dust. For example, This is exactly what astronomers have just done by pointing their telescopes to Hops-315. Therefore, a young star located at 420 parsecs from the earth. Consequently, For the first time in the history of astronomy, they captured the very first moments of planetary training.

A unique snapshot of planetary “zero time” – "it's our sun 4.6 billion

This discovery. Moreover, published in the prestigious Revue Nature, marks a historical step in our understanding of the formation of planetary systems. Therefore, Melissa McClure. Meanwhile, astronomer at the University of Leiden and the main author of the study, describes this observation as a real “instantaneous zero time” of the “it’s our sun 4.6 billion mineral accumulation which precedes the birth of the planets.

« What we are trying to do is find a baby version of our solar system elsewhere“. Similarly, Explains Merel Van’t Hoff, study co-author and astronomer at Purdue University. In addition, This quest, which has fascinated the scientific community for decades, has finally been due to an exceptional conjunction of circumstances.

A star perfectly positioned for observation – "it's our sun 4.6 billion

HOPS-315 is distinguished by several remarkable characteristics which have enabled this revolutionary observation. In addition, Located in the Orion Constellation. this protoetoile has a perfect orientation allowing astronomers to see the gas and dust disc directly seeing it. This configuration is extremely rare. because usually the gas jets emitted by the emerging stars obstruct the sight of the disc.

The team had initially targeted this star after detecting crystalline silicate minerals in its environment. a revealing signal “it’s our sun 4.6 billion indicating that a planetary training process was underway. These minerals are formed when microscopic grains condense and then agglutinate in the hot discs that surround the emerging stars.

The James Webb telescope reveals the secrets of the training

Using the James Webb space telescope. the researchers were able to probe the chemical composition of the material surrounding HOPS-315 with unequaled precision. Their analyzes revealed the presence of hot silicon monoxide. a molecule never observed before in a protoplanetary disc at this stage of development.

The observations. supplemented by those of the large millimeter-imillimetric network of Atacama in Chile, made it possible to reconstruct the current process. The extremely hot central section of the star literally vaporizes the surrounding rock, transforming solid material into gas. This gas then cools gradually. condenses in minerals which constitute the “raw material” essential for the growth of future celestial “it’s our sun 4.6 billion bodies.

A new look at our cosmic origins

This discovery offers an unprecedented perspective on the history of our own solar system. Until now. astronomers could not reconstruct the origins of the solar system by studying old meteorites, fossilized vestiges of its training. From now on, they can directly observe the processes at work.

« It is “it’s our sun 4.6 billion precious to look back. say to yourself: this is what our sun was going through when it was only 100,000 years old“, Underlines McClure. This real -time observation brilliantly completes the indirect data available to scientists.

Towards new discoveries

John Tobin. astronomer at the National Radioastronomy Observatory which did not participate in this research, welcomes this major advance while emphasizing its potential: “ I think it is the first time that we have a vision of this process, but we are only at the beginning.«

The team plans to deepen the HOPS-315 study to better understand its structure. its temperature and the other molecules that circulate there. This precise characterization will make it possible to predict how this system could evolve. thus offering a unique window on adolescence and adulthood of planetary systems.

This discovery opens a new era in astronomy, promising “it’s our sun 4.6 billion to revolutionize our understanding of the formation of worlds.