A far-ultraviolet-driven photoevaporation flow observed in a protoplanetary disk. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38422128/)
These scientists used powerful telescopes called the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array to study a special kind of disk that forms around young stars in a place called the Orion Nebula. This disk is where planets can form.
The scientists were interested in how the light from big, hot stars nearby affects this disk. They found that the light from these stars creates something called a photodissociation region (PDR) on the surface of the disk. This PDR affects the gas in the disk and can even make it disappear quickly.
By studying the light emitted by this gas, the scientists were able to figure out how fast the gas is being removed from the disk. They discovered that the gas is disappearing so quickly that it could impact the formation of giant planets in the disk.
Overall, these scientists found out that the light from big stars can have a big effect on the formation of planets around smaller stars, and they learned more about how this process works in space.
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