T Chamaeleontis

T Chamaeleontis Latest News

Recently, astronomers used archival spectroscopic data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to study polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the spectrum of the young star T Chamaeleontis.

About T Chamaeleontis

• It is a young but sun-like star in the small southern constellation of Chamaeleon.
• It is located about 350 light-years from Earth.
• It can be found in the southern celestial hemisphere.
• It is approximately 70 % of the size of the Sun and temperature on its surface is around 5111 K (4838 °C).
• It is surrounded by a planet-forming disk called circumstellar disk that contains a wide gap—likely carved out by an emerging protoplanet.
  • Normally, the dense inner regions of such disks act like a protective wall or veil blocking much of the star’s ultraviolet light from reaching the colder, outer regions.
• Significance: This gap makes the system a key target for studying how young planets interact with their natal disks and shape their surrounding environments during the early stages of planet formation.

What are Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)?

• These are flat, ring-shaped molecules of carbon and hydrogen.
• They make up a fifth of all carbon in interstellar space.
• Origin: There is a hypothesis that meteors brought PAHs from space to young earth and created the first building blocks of life, attaching important value to their ability to survive in space.
• Properties of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
  • They have a relatively low solubility in water but are highly lipophilic and are soluble in most organic solvents.
  • These hydrocarbons, on earth, are formed through incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of organic materials, such as fossil fuels and biomass.
  • When PAHs collide with other particles or absorb high-energy radiation, they can have more internal energy than their weakest chemical bond can handle.

Source: PIB

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