IRAS 04302: Butterfly Disk Planet Formation
This butterfly can hatch planets.
The nebula fanning out from the star
IRAS 04302+2247
may look like the wings of a butterfly,
while the vertical brown stripe down the center
may look like the butterfly's body -- but
together they indicate an active
planet-forming system.
The
featured picture was captured recently in
infrared light by the
Webb Space Telescope.
Pictured, the vertical disk is thick with the gas and
dust
from which planets form.
The disk shades
visible and (most) infrared light from the central star,
allowing a good view of the surrounding dust that
reflects out light.
In the next few million years, the
dust disk will likely
fragment into rings
through the gravity of newly hatched planets.
And a billion years from now,
the remaining gas and dust will likely dissipate,
leaving mainly the planets -- like in
our Solar System.