The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a new structure resembling a cat’s tail in the Beta Pictoris star system. The discovery, led by Isabel Rebolido, shows complex interactions within the planetary system’s debris disk, suggests recent dust-producing events, and expands our understanding of the dynamics of planetary systems. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ralph Crawford (STScI)
New infrared observations suggest recent large-scale collision
The planetary system around the star Beta Pictoris has fascinated scientists since the 1980s. Even after decades of research, surprises remain.
NASA‘s james webb space telescope has unlocked an exciting new chapter in Beta Pic’s story. This includes new details about the composition of the debris disk and a never-before-seen dust trail that resembles a cat’s tail. This feature is hypothesized by a team of astronomers to be a relatively recent addition to the planetary system – a not-so-old tail.
![Beta Pictoris (Webb MIRI image)](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Beta-Pictoris-Webb-MIRI-Image-777x491.jpg)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured images of the Pictoris Beta star system. Thanks to Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Observatory), a team of astronomers was able to investigate the composition of Beta His Pick’s primary disk and secondary debris disk. The latter feature was previously detected by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Unexpectedly, Webb’s infrared capabilities detected a new feature of the Beta Pic system: a winding branch of dust that resembles the shape of a cat’s tail. This tail, only noticeable in the MIRI data, extends from the southwestern part of the secondary debris disk and is estimated to span 10 billion miles.
The dust that forms the tail may be similar to material found on the surfaces of comets and asteroids in our solar system. Further analysis is needed to understand the origin of cat tails, but the researchers believe they are caused by dust-producing events, such as collisions between asteroids, comets, or planetesimals.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Christopher Stark (NASA-GSFC), Kellen Lawson (NASA-GSFC), Jens Kammerer (ESO), Marshall Perrin (STScI)
Webb Space Telescope discovers dusty ‘cat’s tail’ in Beta Pictoris star system
Beta Pictoris, a young planetary system located just 63 light-years away, continues to intrigue scientists even after decades of detailed study. This star possesses the first dust disk photographed around another star, a disk of debris produced by collisions with asteroids, comets, and planetesimals. NASA observation results hubble space telescope revealed second debris disk In this system, it is tilted relative to the outer disk that was first seen. Now, a team of astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to take images of the Beta Pictoris (Beta Piku) system has discovered a new structure never seen before.
The team, led by Isabel Rebolido of Spain’s Astrobiology Center, used Webb’s NIRCam (near-infrared camera) and MIRI (mid-infrared instrument) to identify the previously detected BetaPick main debris disk and two others. Next, we investigated the composition of the debris disk. The results exceeded their expectations, revealing a sharply sloping dust branch shaped like a cat’s tail extending from the southwest part of the secondary debris disk.
“Pictoris Beta is an all-inclusive debris disk. It has a very bright and close star that we can study well, a multicomponent disk, an exocomet, and two systems that have been imaged. “We have a complex ring star environment that includes exoplanets,” Rebolido said. Lead author of the study. “There have been ground-based observations in this wavelength range before, but this feature was not detected because we did not have the sensitivity and spatial resolution of the current web.”
This is an animation depicting the formation of a cat’s tail, as hypothesized by a team of astronomers. This structure is found in the southwestern part of Betapic’s secondary debris disk, which is estimated to have an extent of 10 billion miles.
Scientists hypothesize that the cat’s tail is the result of a dust-producing event, such as a collision, that occurred just 100 years ago. The generated dust initially follows the same orbital direction as its source and then begins to spread. Starlight pushes the smallest, fluffiest dust particles away from the star faster, while larger particles move less, creating a dust trail.
When viewed from the side, the steep slope of a cat’s tail is an optical illusion. Our perspective and the curvature of the tail create the observed angle, but in reality, the dust vine is only pointing away from the disk with her 5 degree inclination.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ralph Crawford (STScI)
Improved star portraits on the web
Even with Webb (JWST), cat tails only appear in MIRI data, so looking into Beta Pic in the correct wavelength range (in this case mid-infrared) was critical to detecting cat tails. . Webb’s mid-infrared data also revealed differences in temperature between Beta Piku’s two disks. This is probably due to differences in composition.
“We didn’t expect Webb to reveal that there are two different types of material around Beta Piku, but MIRI found that the material in the secondary disk and cat’s tail is hotter than the main disk. “It’s very clear,” said co-investigator Christopher Stark. – Author of the study at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The dust that forms its disk and tail must be so dark that it is not easily visible at visible wavelengths, but it glows in the mid-infrared.”
To explain the high temperatures, the researchers speculated that the dust could be a porous “organic refractory” similar to material found on the surfaces of comets and asteroids in our solar system.For example, NASA’s preliminary analysis of material taken from the asteroid Bennu osiris rex The mission found it to be very dark and carbon-rich, much like what MIRI detected with Beta Pic.
![Beta Pictoris (Webb MIRI annotated image)](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Beta-Pictoris-Webb-MIRI-Annotated-Image-777x491.jpg)
Annotated version of the Beta Pictoris image captured by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). A coronagraph (a black circle and two small disks) was used to block the light of the central star. Certain features are highlighted and labeled.
There is a white line above the orange main fragment disk, labeled “main disk surface.” The light teal disk is tilted approximately 5 degrees counterclockwise relative to the orange main disk and is highlighted by a teal line labeled “Extended Secondary Disk.” A portion of the gray material clustered near the center forms a curved feature to the upper right, marked by a yellow line labeled “cat’s tail.”
The scale bar shows that Beta Piku’s disk extends over several hundred astronomical units (AU). 1 AU is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. (In our solar system, Neptune orbits at a distance of 30 astronomical units from the Sun.) In this image, light at 15.5 microns is colored cyan and light at 23 microns is colored orange ( filters F1550C and F2300C respectively).
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Christopher Stark (NASA-GSFC), Kellen Lawson (NASA-GSFC), Jens Kammerer (ESO), Marshall Perrin (STScI)
The mysterious beginning of the tail warrants future research
But big questions still remain. What explains the shape of the cat’s tail, a uniquely curved feature unlike those seen in disks around other stars?
Rebolido and his team modeled various scenarios to mimic a cat’s tail and understand its origins. Although more research and experiments are needed, the researchers offer a strong hypothesis that cat tails are the result of a dust-producing phenomenon that occurred just 100 years ago.
“Something happens, like a collision, and it creates a lot of dust,” said study co-author Marshall Perrin of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. “At first, the dust travels in the same orbital direction as its source, but then it begins to spread out. The light from the star pushes the smallest, fluffiest dust particles away from the star faster, while larger particles move less. , creating long tendrils of dust.”
“The characteristics of a cat’s tail are so unusual that it was difficult to reproduce the curvature in a mechanical model,” Stark explained. “Our model requires dust to be pushed out of the system very quickly, which also suggests it is made of organic refractory materials.”
![Beta Pictoris (Webb MIRI compass image)](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Beta-Pictoris-Webb-MIRI-Compass-Image-777x642.jpg)
Annotated image of star system Beta Pictoris captured by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). Includes compass arrow, scale bar, and color key for reference.
The north and east compass arrows indicate the direction of the image in the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east in the sky (when viewed from below) is reversed with respect to the directional arrows on the map on the ground (when viewed from above).
The scale bar displays astronomical units and arc seconds. 1 AU is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. (In our solar system, Neptune orbits her 30 astronomical unit distance from the sun.) The arcsecond is a measure of angular distance in the sky. 1 arcsecond is equivalent to 1/3600 of 1 degree. (The angular diameter of a full moon is about 0.5 degrees.) The actual size of an object covering one arcsecond in the sky depends on its distance from the telescope.
This image shows invisible mid-infrared wavelengths converted to visible light colors. The color key indicates which MIRI filter was used when collecting the light. The color in each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Christopher Stark (NASA-GSFC), Kellen Lawson (NASA-GSFC), Jens Kammerer (ESO), Marshall Perrin (STScI)
The team’s preferred model explains the sharp angle of the tail away from the disk as a simple optical illusion. Combining our perspective and the curved shape of the tail creates the observed tail angle, but in reality, the arc of material is just moving away from the disk at his 5 degree inclination . Considering the tail’s brightness, the researchers estimate that the amount of dust in the cat’s tail is equivalent to a large main-belt asteroid spanning 10 billion miles.
A recent dust production event within Betapic’s debris disk may also explain the newly observed asymmetric spreading of the tilted inner disk, shown in the MIRI data and only visible on the opposite side of the tail. Dust production from recent impacts may also be responsible for the previously discovered features. 2014 Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array: A lump of carbon monoxide (CO) near a cat’s tail. This star’s radiation should break down the CO within about 100 years, so this still-existing gas concentration could be permanent evidence of the same event.
“Our study suggests that betapic may be even more active and chaotic than previously thought,” Stark said. “JWST continues to amaze us even when observing the most well-studied objects. We have a whole new window into these planetary systems.”
These results were announced at a press conference at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Orleans, Louisiana.
This observation was conducted as part of the Time Guaranteed Observation Program 1411.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb unravels the mysteries of our solar system, looks to distant worlds around other stars, and investigates the mysterious structure and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA and its partner ESA (european space agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.