James Webb captures creation of 'third world' and birth of potential moons 400 light-years away

In a stunning discovery, the astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) were able to see a third world being formed around the infant star PDS 70400 light-years away from Earth.

The creation of the "third world" was captured under the MIRI mid-infrared Disk Survey (MINDS) project. Two planets taking shape in a disk of gas and dust had already been discovered some time back.

The scientists, with the help of JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), also noticed a large spiral stream of material which was enhancing the growth of an already discovered planet PDS 70C.

PDS 70C, a giant planet, is surrounded by its own disk of material and the spiral stream isfeeding it as well which will soon result in the the birth of its moons.

Speaking to Space.com, MINDS team member and KU Leuven and the University of Liege postdoctoral researcher Valentin Christiaens said, "We found new evidence for the presence of a third planet in the system, which was proposed based on VLT observations."

"Furthermore, the new infrared measurements we obtained for the two known protoplanets suggest the presence of heated material around them — which may be the building blocks for moons forming around them," added Christiaens.

Astronomers' tryst with PDS 70 system

The astronomers have used various telescopes, which include the ground-based Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the VLT, for studying the PDS 70 system.

The astronomers have remained fascinated about the system since the protostar and its protoplanetary disk are likely no older than 5.5 million years.

"PDS 70 is special, as it is the only protoplanetary disk so far where all astronomers agree that we have found forming planets caught in the act," said Christiaens.

"Detailed study of this system has thus allowed us to learn a lot about planet formation," he added.

Watch:NASA's Dart mission asteroid: Asteroid Dimorphos debris may rain on Mars

The researchers are not much aware of the potential third planet's properties. If the planet gets confirmed, it will be named PDS 70D and will remain shrouded in a vast amount of dust.

"What is interesting is that this separation places it near 1:2:4 mean-motion resonance with planets PDS 70B and PDS 70C. This means its orbit would be almost exactly twice as short as B and four times shorter than planet C, respectively," said Christiaens said.

"This is a situation we know in the solar system with the three innermost Galilean moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, and Ganymede," the astronomer said.

(With inputs from agencies)