protoplanetary-disks

At 1,300 light-years away, the Orion Molecular Cloud complex is the nearest site of massive star formation to Earth — a sprawling 240-light-year structure that contains everything from freshly ignited hot young stars to protoplanetary disks still assembling into planets. JWST has turned it into the best-resolved stellar nursery in the observable universe.

Every planet in our solar system grew from a thin disk of gas and dust that surrounded the young Sun 4.6 billion years ago. Modern telescopes now image these disks around other stars in stunning detail, revealing a process far more violent, chaotic, and fast than scientists once imagined.