The presence of quartz crystals swirling in an exoplanet’s atmosphere could indicate the presence of a hot protoplanetary disk. Such a disk is a relatively recently formed disk of gas and dust surrounding a new star, and is the birthplace of planets. Exoplanets are often formed in this sort of environment and can retain particles of the disk, such as quartz crystals, in their atmospheres. If quartz crystals are detected in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, it could indicate that such a disk has recently existed in the system, and may still be in existence. Furthermore, presence of quartz crystals could also indicate the possible presence of other minerals, such as silicates and iron, and could provide support for theories that exoplanets host a variety of materials other than gas and dust, such as those commonly found in the Earth’s atmosphere.
