For the first time, scientists have witnessed the birth of solid matter in a distant star system, revealing the ancient process that created Earth.

 

 

For the first time, scientists have witnessed the birth of solid matter in a distant star system, revealing the ancient process that created Earth.

 

Astronomers have reached a historic milestone by capturing the earliest known stage of planet formation around a young star named HOPS-315. Located approximately 1,300 light-years from Earth, this baby star is surrounded by a swirling disc of gas where the very first solid materials are just beginning to emerge. Using the combined power of the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), researchers detected hot, crystalline minerals—specifically silicon monoxide grains—condensing directly from gas. These tiny particles represent the seeds of a future planetary system, marking the first time this critical transition has been observed outside our own solar neighborhood.

 

This discovery provides a spectacular window into the history of our own cosmic home. The region where these minerals are forming mirrors the location of the asteroid belt in our solar system, suggesting a process nearly identical to what occurred 4.5 billion years ago when Earth and its neighbors were born. As these microscopic grains collide and merge, they eventually form kilometer-sized planetesimals, the foundational structures of rocky planets and gas giants alike. Published in the journal Nature, the study demonstrates how advanced infrared technology can finally unlock the mysteries of how matter transitions from stardust into the complex worlds we see today.

source: McClure, M. K., et al. (2025). Refractory solid condensation detected in an embedded protoplanetary disk. Nature.