Webb telescope directly observes the origin of carbon in the universe

Astronomers have long sought to find the origin of the building blocks of life, and how elements like carbon, which are essential for life, spread across the universe.

Recent findings using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have unveiled a fascinating process in action.

In the Milky Way, 5,000 light-years away, two massive stars in the Wolf-Rayet 140 system are spewing out massive amounts of carbon-rich dust.

This process provides valuable insight into the origin of elements that are necessary for the formation of new stars and planets.

Stars and carbon dust

In the Wolf-Rayet 140 system, two massive stars orbit each other in stretched-out, oval-shaped paths called elongated orbits.

Every eight years, their orbits bring them close together. During these close approaches, the powerful winds from each star crash into one another. This collision compresses the materials in the winds, creating dust particles that are rich in carbon.

The carbon-rich dust doesn’t stay near the stars. Instead, it forms into expanding shells that spread outward into space.

These shells are visible because of the James Webb Space Telescope’s ability to observe mid-infrared light, which highlights cooler materials like this dust. This discovery allows astronomers to track how the dust forms and spreads.

Movement of carbon dust shells

“The telescope not only confirmed that these dust shells are real, its data also showed that the dust shells are moving outward at consistent velocities, revealing visible changes over incredibly short periods of time,” said Emma Lieb, a doctoral student and lead author of the study.

Amazingly, the dust shells created by the stars in Wolf-Rayet 140 expand at an incredible speed of over 1,600 miles (2,500 kilometers) per second, which is almost 1% of the speed of light.

This rapid expansion is extraordinary, as most changes in space occur over much longer timescales.

The James Webb Space Telescope has identified 17 distinct shells of dust, each representing a moment when the stars’ close encounters produced new material.

These shells span over 130 years, showing the consistent and ongoing process of dust creation.

However, many older shells may have already dispersed into space and become too faint to detect. Thousands more are expected to form as this process continues over time.

“We are used to thinking about events in space taking place slowly, over millions or billions of years. In this system, the observatory is showing that the dust shells are expanding from one year to the next,” remarked Jennifer Hoffman, a co-author.

Carbon dust seeds stars and planets

These carbon-rich dust particles vary in structure, either forming amorphous clouds as large as our solar system or floating individually.

“Mid-infrared observations are absolutely crucial for this analysis, since the dust in this system is fairly cool. Near-infrared and visible light would only show the shells that are closest to the star,” noted Ryan Lau, a co-author of the study.

The dust generated by Wolf-Rayet 140 might eventually contribute to the formation of new stars and planets in the galaxy.

“We know carbon is necessary for the formation of rocky planets and solar systems like ours,” Hoffman added.

“It’s exciting to get a glimpse into how binary star systems not only create carbon-rich dust, but also propel it into our galactic neighborhood.”

Future of Wolf-Rayet 140

The Wolf-Rayet star in the Wolf-Rayet 140 system is approaching the end of its life, a phase that brings significant cosmic consequences.

Being more than ten times the mass of the Sun, this star’s immense size and energy will determine how it ends its days.

One possible outcome is a supernova explosion, a dramatic and powerful event that could completely disrupt the surrounding environment.

If this happens, the carbon-rich dust shells that the star has been producing might be scattered across space, potentially contributing to the formation of new stars and planets elsewhere.

The other possibility is that the star will collapse under its own force of gravity to form a black hole. If this occurs, the dust shells already created would likely remain intact, preserving a unique snapshot of the star’s legacy in the cosmos.

What have we learned?

This dual possibility highlights the profound impact such massive stars can have on their surroundings and on the future of the materials they produce.

“A major question in astronomy is, where does all the dust in the universe come from? If carbon-rich dust like this survives, it could help us begin to answer that question,” Lau noted.

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to provide unparalleled insights into the cosmos. As it peers into the origins of elements and celestial structures, it brings humanity closer to understanding our place in the universe.

The study is published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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