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Protoplanetary Disk XUE 1 (MIRI Emission Spectrum: 13.3–15.5 microns)

Graphic titled “XUE 1 Irradiated Protoplanetary Disk, MIRI Medium -Resolution Spectroscopy” shows a graph of brightness versus wavelength from 13.3 to 15.5 microns, with acetylene, hydrogen cyanide, water, and carbon dioxide peaks highlighted.

This graphic presents some of the first results from the eXtreme UV Environments (XUE) James Webb Space Telescope program. Astronomers focused on rocky-planet-forming regions of disks in the Lobster Nebula using Webb’s Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) of the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). This first result focuses on the protoplanetary disk termed XUE 1, which is located in the star cluster Pismis 24.

The inner disk around XUE 1 revealed signatures of water (highlighted here in blue and centered around 14.2 microns), as well as acetylene (C2H2, highlighted in green; centered around 13.7 microns), hydrogen cyanide (HCN, highlighted in brown; centered around 14.0 microns), and carbon dioxide (CO2, highlighted in red; centered around 14.95 microns). As indicated, some of the emission detected was weaker than some of the predicted models, which might imply a small outer disk radius.

  • Release Date
    November 30, 2023
  • Science Release
    Webb Study Reveals Rocky Planets Can Form in Extreme Environments
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, María Claudia Ramírez-Tannus (MPIA), Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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Related Images & Videos

The image is dominated by a dusty disk extending from upper left to lower right and tilted toward the viewer. It resembles patchy clouds with small rocky bits scattered throughout. At 4 o’clock and 11 o’clock are two small, embedded planets. The outer edges of the disk are reddish, the middle orange, and the inner region yellow-white. At the center is a gap within which is a bright white star.

Protoplanetary Disk XUE 1 (Artist Concept)

This is an artist’s impression of a young star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk in which planets are forming. An international team of astronomers have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to provide the first observation of water and other molecules in the highly...

Graphic titled “XUE 1 Irradiated Protoplanetary Disk, MIRI Medium -Resolution Spectroscopy” shows a graph of brightness versus wavelength from 4.95 to 5.15 microns, with carbon monoxide peaks highlighted.

Protoplanetary Disk XUE 1 (MIRI Emission Spectrum: 4.95–5.15 microns)

This graphic presents some of the first results from the eXtreme UV Environments (XUE) James Webb Space Telescope program. Astronomers focused on rocky-planet-forming regions of disks in the Lobster Nebula using Webb’s Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) of the Mid-Infrared...

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Last Updated
Nov 17, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Illustration Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, María Claudia Ramírez-Tannus (MPIA), Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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