The James Webb telescope has discovered a lunar factory 625 light-years from Earth.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has measured for the first time the chemical composition and physical characteristics of a possible lunar disk surrounding a massive exoplanet. This disk orbits the planet CT Cha b, located about 625 light-years from Earth. The environment around the planet can serve as a place for the future birth of satellites, providing valuable information about how natural satellites are formed. This was reported by Science Daily magazine on October 29.

The star CT Cha b orbits is only about 2 million years old and is still absorbing material from the surrounding space. However, telescope observations have shown that the smaller disk around the planet exists independently of the larger one feeding the star itself. The planet and its star, as specified, are separated by a huge distance — about 46 billion miles. This indicates that they represent two separate centers of activity.

It is believed that satellites outnumber planets, and some of them may also have conditions suitable for life. The researchers call the discovery a breakthrough in understanding how these space objects are born and develop. Detailed observations of the telescope allow scientists to compare the young CT Cha b system with the early history of the Solar System, formed more than 4 billion years ago.

"We see evidence of the existence of a disk around the companion and for the first time we can study its chemical composition. We are observing not only the formation of the moon, but also the formation of this planet," said Sierra Grant, a co—author of the study from the Carnegie Institution in Washington.

Gabriel Cunho, the lead author of the study from the University of Zurich and a member of the National Competence Center for PlanetS Research, stressed that scientists can also see the accumulating material forming the planet and its moons.

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To study CT Cha b, the telescope used a mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) and a medium-resolution spectrograph. The initial analysis of the archived data showed the presence of molecules in the circumplanetary disk. Since the dim glow of the planet is easily lost in the bright light of the star, scientists have applied high-contrast imaging techniques to separate the light of the planet from the light of the star.

Grant noted that the researchers saw molecules at the location of the planet and realized that it was worth studying and spending a year trying to extract something valuable from this data. As a result, the team identified seven molecules containing carbon, including acetylene and benzene. This strong carbon footprint stands in stark contrast to the chemistry of the stellar disk, where water is present and carbon is absent. Differences in chemical composition show how quickly such environments can change — in just 2 million years.

Scientists have long assumed that Jupiter's four largest moons— Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto—arose from a similar disk surrounding the young planet billions of years ago. This hypothesis is confirmed by the coincidence of their orbits. The two most distant moons, Ganymede and Callisto, consist of about 50% water ice, but probably have rocky cores rich in carbon and silicon.

"We want to learn more about how moons formed in our Solar system. This means that we need to explore other systems that are still in the formative stages. We're trying to figure out how it all works. How are these moons formed? What do they consist of? What physical processes take place in them and at what time? Webb allows us to witness the drama of satellite formation and explore these issues through observations for the first time," Cunho added.

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On October 28, Scientific American magazine reported the discovery of fragments of a rare meteorite on the Moon, which is able to reveal the secrets of the evolution of the Solar system. Analysis of these samples confirmed that this type of asteroid delivered a significant amount of water and other compounds to the satellite.

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