“Discovering the Secrets of Fomalhaut’s Asteroid Belt: Insights from the James Webb Space Telescope”

2023-05-10 09:12:00


The Astronomical Research Institute page posted that the national star is beautiful. In the sky that our eyes can see There might be something more hidden. Like the star Fomalhaut of the southern fish constellation. At last, the James Webb Space Telescope. has revealed the asteroid belt that surrounds this star

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have studied the dust band orbiting the star Fomalhaut (Formalot) and have revealed images of the intricate inner asteroid belt. and twice the size of the Kuiper belt of the solar system. It also reveals for the first time a never-before-seen inner asteroid belt structure.

Fomalhaut is a star 25 light years away that can be observed with the naked eye. Appearing as the brightest blue star in the direction of the southern fish constellation (Piscis Austrinus), Fomalhaut is a blue giant. It was previously discovered to be surrounded by a belt of asteroid debris (debris disk).

Once, in 2008, an object that was thought to be the first exoplanet was discovered. that can be directly observed in optical wavelengths by the Hubble Space Telescope. Later, in the year 2014, this object was found to have disappeared. It is possible that the objects seen here are dust particles that spread out when the moons within the asteroid belt collide, fading away over time. All of these are examples of how complex the asteroid belt around Fomalhaut is. So why didn’t this asteroid belt come together to form planets? Studying this system may help us understand the process of planet formation.

these dust bands is much less bright than the star It is usually obscured by the light from the stars. But it can be observed much more easily in infrared radiation. Plus the size of the front of the camera is bigger than any camera ever. This makes the James Webb Space Telescope ideal for studying the asteroid belt in detail.

Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope not only revealed the two outer asteroid belts in never-before-seen detail. but also reveals the inner asteroid belt In total, the three asteroid belts are spread out around the star, regarding 23 billion km from the star, or 150 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. and the extent of the outer asteroid belt extends more than twice the distance of the solar system’s Kuiper belt.

In addition, thanks to the observing power of the James Webb Space Telescope, gaps between these asteroid belts can be observed. which whenever we find missing bands within the rings of asteroids or dust That means the possibility of small planets forming. that keeps sucking those rocks and dust away Studying such images in detail It is therefore important that astronomers can understand that planetary systems such as our solar system How was it born?

Image: The asteroid belt surrounding Fomalhaut, captured by the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), reveals three asteroid belts. Spread 23 billion km from the star, the inner asteroid belt was first revealed by JWST. The lower right image shows the structure of the dust cloud within the ring. at two wavelengths NASA, ESA, CSA, A. Gáspár (University of Arizona). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI).

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