The star, despite being about halfway through its one-billion-year lifetime, does not seem to have formed any large worlds. It was really surprising, says Kate Su of the University of Arizona and the Space Science Institute, who led the JWST observations. Instead, it has a supersmooth disk of sandlike dust around the star that, while it might yet be hiding smaller planets, doesn't seem to have formed bulkier worlds such as Saturn and Jupiter.
We really expected to see some giant planets, Su says. The research was presented in two papers that were initially posted on the preprint server arXiv.
Vega is set to reclaim the North Star crown in 12,000 years. As such, many have considered this iconic star an intriguing place to look for life.
The nearby star Vega holds a special place in human culture. Located just 25 light-years away, this shining beacon is about twice the mass of the sun and 40 times as bright.
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