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ALMA’s Survey of Protoplanetary Disks

The researchers will use NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to survey 17 of the 20 nearby protoplanetary disks observed by Chile’s Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in 2018 for its Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). ALMA delivered excellent data about the outer disks, but Webb will detail the inner disks by delivering spectra, which spread light out into a rainbow, revealing the chemical compositions of each object.
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator. - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.ALMA
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Protoplanetary Disks
- Release DateSeptember 22, 2021
- Science ReleaseNASA’s Webb to Explore Forming Planetary Systems
- CreditALMA, ESO, NAOJ, NRAO, S. Andrews, Nicolas Lira
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Simulated Spectrum of a Protoplanetary Disk
The James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) will deliver incredibly rich information about the molecules that are present in the inner disks of still-forming planetary systems (known as protoplanetary disks). This simulated spectrum, which produces a detailed...
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Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
ALMA, ESO, NAOJ, NRAO, S. Andrews, Nicolas Lira