Have you ever wondered where planets like Earth come from? What if we told you that right now, at this very moment, new worlds are being born in swirling disks of cosmic dust and gas around distant stars? Welcome to FreeAstroScience, where we break down the wonders of the universe into ideas you can grasp and carry with you. Today, we're exploring something truly special: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has just released a breathtaking new gallery of images showing protoplanetary disks—the cosmic nurseries where planets take their first breath.
Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and join us on this journey through space. By the end of this article, you'll understand not just where planets form, but how this 35-year-old telescope continues to reshape our understanding of the cosmos.
What Are Protoplanetary Disks and Why Do They Matter?
Let's start with the basics. A protoplanetary disk is essentially a spinning pancake of gas and dust that surrounds a young star. Think of it like a cosmic construction site. The raw materials—dust grains, gas molecules, ices—slowly clump together over millions of years. Eventually, they grow into planets, moons, asteroids, and comets .
Here's how it works:
- A cloud of gas develops a dense core (called a pre-stellar core)
- Gravity pulls the core inward, creating a protostar
- Surrounding material spirals toward the protostar, forming a rotating disk
- Within this disk, dust grains stick together, eventually building planet-sized objects
At first, astronomers call this structure a "circumstellar disk." But once planets start forming inside it? That's when it earns the name "protoplanetary disk" .
We find these disks around stars that are only a few million years old. That might sound ancient to us, but in cosmic terms, it's practically infancy. Our own Sun went through this stage about 4.6 billion years ago—and the result was our entire solar system.
What Does Hubble's New Gallery Show Us?
NASA recently released a stunning collection of Hubble images featuring protoplanetary disks around young stars. These images were captured using two different instruments: the Advanced Camera for Surveys (for visible light) and the Wide Field Camera 3 (for infrared) .
What makes these images so special? They show us planet formation in action. We're not looking at ancient history or computer simulations. We're witnessing real stellar nurseries, captured by one of humanity's greatest scientific instruments.
Key Objects in the Gallery
| Object Name | Key Features | Location |
|---|---|---|
| HH 390 | Not quite edge-on; only one side of nebulosity visible | — |
| Tau 042021 | Edge-on view; later evolutionary stage with clumped dust grains | — |
| HH 48 | Binary protostar system; larger star shapes companion's disk | — |
| ESO Hα574 | Compact disk with highly focused jet and linear outflow | — |
| HOPS 150, V2764 Orionis, HOPS 179 | Bright protostars with dusty disks | Orion Molecular Cloud Complex |
| PERSEUS eHOPS-per-52 | Protostar in dense cloud region | Perseus Molecular Cloud |
Each disk tells a different story. Tau 042021, for instance, is in a later stage of evolution. Its dust grains have already begun clumping together into larger particles—a necessary first step toward building planets .
Visible Light vs. Infrared: Two Windows into Planet Birth
Here's something fascinating: Hubble observes these disks in both visible light and infrared. Why does that matter? Because different wavelengths reveal different secrets.
Visible Light Observations
In visible light, we see:
- Polar jets shooting outward from the star's poles
- Brightly-lit nebulae surrounding the young star
- Dark bands—shadows cast by the disk onto the surrounding gas cloud
The dark band you see around each star isn't empty space. It's the disk itself, blocking light and projecting its shadow onto the glowing nebula behind it. It's like seeing the silhouette of a planet-forming factory.
Infrared Observations
Switch to infrared, and the view changes dramatically. Dust absorbs starlight and re-emits it as infrared radiation. This means Hubble's infrared camera can see through the dust to spot the bright protostars hiding inside .
There's a catch, though. Hubble's infrared camera can't detect the jets that are so visible in optical images. It's a trade-off—one wavelength shows the violent outflows, the other reveals the hidden stars.
The Wide Field Camera 3, Hubble's most powerful instrument, can observe in optical, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths. This versatility makes it perfect for studying these complex systems .
What Are Those Dramatic Jets Shooting from Young Stars?
If you look at Hubble's visible-light images, you'll notice something striking: beams of material shooting out from opposite ends of each young star. These are called polar jets, and they're one of nature's most spectacular displays.
Here's what happens: As material spirals inward toward the protostar, not all of it lands on the stellar surface. Some gets caught up in the star's magnetic field and gets flung outward at incredible speeds—several hundred kilometers per second .
When these jets slam into clumps of gas in the surrounding interstellar medium, they light up the material. Sometimes, they create objects called Herbig-Haro Objects. These are temporary features that shine brightly but fade away within a few tens of thousands of years .
The protostar stage—complete with its disk and jets—can last for hundreds of thousands of years. That's a blink of an eye in cosmic time, yet it's the period when the foundation of planetary systems gets laid down .
How Does JWST Compare to Hubble in Studying Star Formation?
You might be wondering: "If we have the James Webb Space Telescope now, why are we still talking about Hubble?"
Great question. Both telescopes study protostars and protoplanetary disks, but they bring different strengths to the table.
JWST launched with an ambitious science agenda, and "The Birth of Stars and Planetary Systems" was one of its main themes. Its infrared capabilities far surpass Hubble's, allowing it to peer deeper into dusty regions .
In 2024, JWST-based research revealed something remarkable: some young protostars have layered structures of winds. Inner jets are surrounded by outer, cone-shaped jets—a nested architecture that scientists hadn't fully appreciated before .
One striking comparison involves HH30, a protoplanetary disk in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Hubble captured it in visible light, showing the disk and jets beautifully. JWST then observed the same object, with each color in its image representing a different chemical tracer in different parts of the jet .
| Telescope | Strength | Observation Type |
|---|---|---|
| Hubble | Visible light, UV, near-infrared | Disk structure, jets, shadows |
| JWST | Deep infrared penetration | Chemical composition, hidden structures |
Together, these telescopes give us a more complete picture than either could alone. It's like having two detectives working the same case—each notices details the other might miss.
Will Hubble Keep Working? What's Next for This Legendary Telescope?
When Hubble launched in April 1990, NASA expected it to operate for about 15 years. Fast forward to today, and it's been working for over 35 years. That's more than double its expected lifespan .
How did it last so long? Five separate servicing missions by Space Shuttle crews kept the telescope healthy. Astronauts replaced instruments, fixed problems, and upgraded its capabilities. The last servicing mission took place in 2009.
But nothing lasts forever. Hubble is now losing gyroscopes—the devices that help point the telescope precisely at its targets. With fewer working gyroscopes, it takes longer to aim, and overall observations have dropped by about 12%.
Despite these challenges, NASA expects Hubble to keep operating into the 2030s. And here's an exciting rumor: there's talk of a potential new servicing mission that could extend its life even further.
If that happens, Hubble will continue contributing to our understanding of how stars and planets form—a legacy that's already remarkable.
Final Thoughts
We've traveled quite far today. We started with a simple question—where do planets form?—and ended up exploring protoplanetary disks, polar jets, Herbig-Haro Objects, and the remarkable longevity of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Here's what we learned:
- Planets are born in rotating disks of gas and dust around young stars
- Hubble's new gallery shows these disks in both visible light and infrared
- Polar jets shoot material outward at hundreds of km/s, creating glowing structures
- JWST and Hubble work together to give us a fuller picture of star formation
- Hubble may operate into the 2030s, continuing its groundbreaking work
Every image from Hubble reminds us that we're part of something vast and ongoing. Somewhere out there, right now, another Earth might be taking shape in a swirling disk of cosmic dust.
At FreeAstroScience.com, we believe that understanding the universe doesn't require a PhD. It just requires curiosity—and a willingness to keep asking questions. As we like to say: the sleep of reason breeds monsters. So keep your mind active. Keep wondering. Keep looking up.
Come back soon for more journeys through the cosmos. We'll be here, ready to explore with you.
Sources
Gough, E. (2026, January 16). Exploring Where Planets Form With The Hubble Space Telescope. Universe Today. https://www.universetoday.com/articles/exploring-where-planets-form-with-the-hubble-space-telescope
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