JWST has found Carbon Monoxide behaving in a way never seen before
Sandeep K S
Dec 25, 2025
1 min read
"Illustration depicting the process of how crashing comets contribute to planet formation. A young star, HD 131488, is surrounded by a carbon monoxide-rich debris disk, with theories suggesting the gases result from comet collisions. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected warm CO gas in the planet zone, hinting at potential rocky planet formation. The image explains the temperature imbalance between the gas's vibrational and rotational states, supporting the crashing comet theory as a source for metal-rich environments conducive to non-hydrogen-dominated planets."
Astrophysicists have completed ASTRID, the largest cosmological hydrodynamic simulation ever run, tracing the universe from the cosmic dawn ($z=99$) down to the present day ($z=0$). By resolving 166 billion particles across 815 million light-years, ASTRID unveils how supermassive black holes co-evolve with galaxies and sculpt the cosmic web.
Scientists have uncovered the first robust evidence of a black hole and neutron star crashing together while orbiting in an oval path, challenging long-standing assumptions about cosmic pair formation.
Most neutron star-black hole pairs are expected to adopt circular orbits long before merging, their orbits slowly rounded out by the constant emission of gravitational waves over millions of years.
Far from the warmth of any star, moons orbiting rogue gas giants might harbor oceans of liquid water—and potentially complex life—for billions of years.
Liquid water is considered essential for life. Surprisingly, however, stable conditions that are conducive to life could exist far from any sun.
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