NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed typical conditions in the disk – it was being bombarded primarily by X-rays. Planets are in a race against time to form before the disk of material is evaporated completely.
SZ Cha emits radiation in multiple wavelengths which are evaporating the disk. The raw ingredients, including those for life on Earth, were present in the Sun’s protoplanetary disk. Once our solar system looked something like this, before planets, moons, and asteroids formed. In this artist concept, the young star SZ Chamaeleontis (SZ Cha) is surrounded by a disk of dust and gas with the potential to form a planetary system.