Snow Lines accelerate the formation of planetary systems - BBC News

Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have done a photo of the snow line – the first in the history of space exploration. It is located at a very young system, away from Earth for 175 years light.

Photo taken through a telescope ALMA. Fig. Credit: Karin Oberg, Harvard University / University of Virginia

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lines of snow can be found around young stars – in remote and cold regions surrounding disks, which eventually form the whole planetary systems.

depending on the distance from the sun snow may be formed from different molecules – carbon dioxide, methane or carbon monoxide. Plays a very important role in the formation of the planetary system.

Reported by researchers at the snow line is around a young star called TW Hydrae. The researchers are of the opinion that the nascent solar system has many features in common with the solar system, when he was only a few million years.

– ALMA gave us the first real picture of the snow line around a young star, which is very exciting because it says a lot about a very early period in the history of the solar system – said Chunhua “Charlie” Qi of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

snow line formed in a specific area and a narrow disc. Above and below this region radiation star maintains a high temperature gas, which prevents the formation of ice. These lines make the material contained in the disk becomes “sticky”, which makes it easier to combine and accelerate the formation of planets. Because there are many lines of snow, each of which may be associated with the formation of certain types of planets.

If we consider our system, this line of snow resulting from the water would be in orbit around Jupiter, and formed from carbon monoxide – orbit of Pluto.

researchers particularly interesting is frozen carbon dioxide – a compound essential for the formation of methanol, the building blocks of more complex organic molecules without which life could not arise.