About T Chamaeleontis:
- It is a young but sun-like star in the small southern constellation of Chamaeleon.
- It is located about 350 light-years from Earth.
- It can be found in southern celestial hemisphere.
- It is approximately 70 % of the size of Sun and temperature on its surface is around 4838 °C.
- It is surrounded by a planet-forming disk called circumstellar disk that contains a wide gap, likely carved out by an emerging protoplanet.
- Normally, the dense inner regions of such disks act like a protective wall or veil blocking much of the star’s ultraviolet light from reaching the colder, outer regions.
- This gap makes the system a key target for studying how young planets interact with their natal disks and shape their surrounding environments during the early stages of planet formation.
What are Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)?
- These are flat, ring-shaped molecules of carbon and hydrogen.
- They make up a fifth of all carbon in interstellar space.
- Origin: There is a hypothesis that meteors brought PAHs from space to young earth and created the first building blocks of life.
- Properties of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons:
- They have a relatively low solubility in water but are highly lipophilic and are soluble in most organic solvents.
- These hydrocarbons, on earth, are formed through incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of organic materials, such as fossil fuels and biomass.
- When PAHs collide with other particles or absorb high-energy radiation, they can have more internal energy than their weakest chemical bond can handle.
