Ingredients to form new celestial bodies found

NCG 346, located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Photo: NASA

By RNZ

The James Webb Space Telescope has found the building blocks of new planets located in a galaxy neighbouring the Milky Way.

Astronomers have found the ingredients to form new celestial bodies around hundreds of young stars in the dwarf galaxy next to our own.

The research outlines that most planets start as grains of microscopic sand, similar to dust, that stick together over time to for rocky planetesimals.

The dust, made from silicon, magnesium, iron and aluminium, has been detected in the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy, orbiting the small stars.

Lead researcher Olivia Jones said they had detected thermal radiation being emitted from the dust.

Its presence means, over 11 to 12 billion years, they have the capacity to create new planets around the stars as they mature.

- RNZ