A new study published in the journal Nature has revealed that a shocking outbreak of the protostar V883 Orionis has pushed the snow line of a protoplanetary disk (from which the planets are born) to a distance of about 6,000 million kilometers , which represents approximately the size of the orbit of the dwarf planet Pluto.
This explosion produced an increase in its brightness, which has allowed astronomers – using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile – to observe for the first time this line of water snow from a protoplanetary disk of gas and dust. This line marks the place where the temperature of the dense disc is so low that it allows the formation of snow.
The water concentrated within protoplanetary disks is found in the form of gas up to distances of about 450 million kilometers; Due to the low pressure of the disk, the water molecules are converted directly from the gaseous state to an ice coating on dust grains and other particles. This transition is known as the snow line.
The unusual thing about this observed icy border is the outbreak that has pushed the snow line to about 6,000 kilometers or 40 Astronomical Units. And not only that. This sudden increase in light has caused that being only 30% more massive than the Sun, V883 Orionis is now 400 times more luminous than our star and also much hotter.
“The observations were designed to obtain images of the fragmentation of the disk that leads to the formation of the planet. We didn’t see any of that; instead, we found what looks like a ring at 40 AU, “says Lucas Cierza, study leader.
Considering that small, rocky planets such as Earth are thought to form within the snow line, finding out that these towering bursts are capable of pushing the snow line out of the water to nearly 10 times its usual radius, is very relevant for the development of more reliable models of planetary formation.
