NASA to launch planet-forming observation project

NASA is scheduled to launch a scientific project focusing on the Orion Nebula using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. 

The project will infrared, high resolution imaging. Photos are going to be compared to those taken by the Hubble. The telescope is set to launch in 2021 and it will be “the world’s premier space science observatory,” according to a press release from NASA

Young stars are easier to observe using infrared, which can detect things unseen by visible light. Scientists will use the telescope to see what kind of mass objects there are and how many, according to NASA. They will also be able to look at their atmospheres.

Astronomers are focusing on Orion because it's the area closest to the sun that has both large stars as well as the smaller objects.

These objects are similar in size to Saturn or Jupiter, according to NASA.  

NASA scientists will try to determine if the objects were orginially formed from a planet or if it formed from gas and dust, according to NASA. 

Scientists are also researching if low-mass objects can form by themselves or were formed around a planet then "got kicked out in some kind of interaction," according to NASA.

The Webb Interdisciplinary Scientist for Star Formation will focus on the portion of the Orion Nebula called the Trapezium Cluster. This body in work is part of a Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) project.

In this section, there are nearly 1,000 stars within a four light year distance of each other.

Specifically, they will study the formation of young stars, according to NASA. One thing they will analyze is how objects are distributed, as well as their masses. They will also be able to observe the earliest stages of planet formation and look at the materials that stars are ejecting into the atmosphere.

Mark McCaughrean will lead the project starting in 2021.