Chapter 1: The Orion Nebula and Its Mysteries

The Orion Nebula, home to the distant young star known as Origin Source I, provides crucial insights into the formation of our solar system. Recent discoveries of a cloud composed of aluminium monoxide (AlO) around this star reveal significant details about how both our solar system and humanity came into existence.

This cloud of aluminium monoxide (AlO) was detected by astronomers surrounding Origin Source I, located approximately 1.4k light-years from Earth within the Orion Nebula. The cloud's concentrated presence suggests that AlO gas quickly transitions into solid grains, offering a glimpse into the early conditions of our solar system.

Professor Shogo Tachibana from the UTokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science is deeply passionate about space exploration. His research spans meteorites, stars, and nebulae—vast clouds of gas and dust in space—in an effort to piece together the origins of our solar system.

Tachibana states, “I have always been curious about the evolution of our solar system and what transpired billions of years ago. This inquiry drives me to study the physics and chemistry of asteroids and meteorites.”

Section 1.1: Asteroids and Meteorites: Nature's Time Capsules

Asteroids and meteorites captivate astronomers as they remain largely unchanged since the formation of our Sun and planets from a swirling gas and dust cloud about 4.56 billion years ago. These celestial rocks hold valuable records of the conditions at that time, providing essential insights into our solar system's early environment.

Tachibana shares, “On my desk is a small fragment of the Allende meteorite, which landed on Earth in 1969. Although it appears mostly dark, there are scattered white inclusions within it—these are significant. These specks are calcium and aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs), which were among the first solid objects formed in our solar system.”

Subsection 1.1.1: The Significance of CAIs

The minerals found in CAIs indicate that the early solar system was extremely hot. Techniques for dating these minerals provide a specific age for the solar system, and Tachibana and his colleagues are eager to delve deeper into this phase of stellar and planetary evolution.

To further this understanding, Tachibana sought to observe a young star that could resemble our own. “Since there are no time machines to explore our past, we aimed to study a young star sharing characteristics with our Sun,” he explains.

Chapter 2: Groundbreaking Discoveries with ALMA

Utilizing the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), researchers identified the emission lines—essentially a chemical signature—of AlO in the outflows from the circumstellar disc surrounding the young star, Orion Source I.

Although Orion Source I is not identical to our Sun, Tachibana notes it serves as an excellent starting point for investigation.

ALMA's advanced resolution and sensitivity enabled the team to map the distribution of AlO around the star, a capability that no other current instrument could achieve.

Tachibana elaborates, “Thanks to ALMA, we have identified the distribution of AlO around a young star for the first time. The concentration of AlO appears confined to the heated region of the outflow from the disk, suggesting that AlO quickly condenses into solid grains—similar to CAIs found in our solar system.”

“This data allows us to impose stricter constraints on theories concerning our own stellar evolution, but much work remains ahead,” he adds. The research team plans to investigate gas and solid molecules surrounding other stars to gather further data that will refine models of our solar system.

The groundbreaking research conducted by Shogo Tachibana and colleagues is detailed in their publication, “Spatial distribution of AlO in a high mass protostar candidate Orion Source I,” published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on April 24, 2019.

Explore the official audio of "Written in the Stars" by Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner, which captures the cosmic essence of our universe.

Enjoy the music video for "Written In The Stars" by Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner, a perfect blend of art and astronomy.