A Protoplanetary Disk That Refuses to Grow Up

When young stars form, they accumulate an accretion disk of dust and gas, which eventually forms planets. Typically, this process lasts less than 10 million years, as the increasing radiation from the star disperses the remaining material. However, recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed a protoplanetary disk in a system estimated to be 30 million years old—three times longer than the expected lifespan. Scientists have already determined this is not a debris d