A watery haze has been spotted in a young star’s disk which extends almost 200 times the distance between Earth and the sun, according to new findings published in Science on Oct. 21.
The chilled water vapor is believed to be due to ice-coated dust grains near the disk’s surface with the potential to generate abundant water, and may be typical of other young stars that later form solar systems.
Known as TW Hydrae, the star is an orange dwarf about 175 light-years away in the constellation Hydra. It is only 10 million years old, and smaller and cooler than our own sun.
Using the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on the Herschel Space Observatory, a thin layer of gas with a light signature was detected due to ultraviolet radiation emitted by the star that releases water molecules from the ice.
“Our observations of this cold vapor indicate enough water exists in the disk to fill thousands of Earth oceans,” said study lead author Michiel Hogerheijde at Holland’s Leiden Observatory in a press release.
Previously, warm water vapor in planet-forming disks was found close to a central star. This is the first time masses of water have been seen stretching into the cooler disk edges where comets form from dust and ice.
“These are the most sensitive HIFI observations to date,” said Paul Goldsmith at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the release. “It is a testament to the instrument builders that such weak signals can be detected.”
Over the next few million years, the disk will form a solar system as its matter collides to create asteroids, planets, and other celestial bodies.
During this process, comets will probably deposit the majority of this water as they impact with new worlds to produce oceans.
These findings suggest that water-covered planets like Earth could be common in the universe.
The chilled water vapor is believed to be due to ice-coated dust grains near the disk’s surface with the potential to generate abundant water, and may be typical of other young stars that later form solar systems.
Known as TW Hydrae, the star is an orange dwarf about 175 light-years away in the constellation Hydra. It is only 10 million years old, and smaller and cooler than our own sun.
Using the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on the Herschel Space Observatory, a thin layer of gas with a light signature was detected due to ultraviolet radiation emitted by the star that releases water molecules from the ice.
“Our observations of this cold vapor indicate enough water exists in the disk to fill thousands of Earth oceans,” said study lead author Michiel Hogerheijde at Holland’s Leiden Observatory in a press release.
Previously, warm water vapor in planet-forming disks was found close to a central star. This is the first time masses of water have been seen stretching into the cooler disk edges where comets form from dust and ice.
“These are the most sensitive HIFI observations to date,” said Paul Goldsmith at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the release. “It is a testament to the instrument builders that such weak signals can be detected.”
Over the next few million years, the disk will form a solar system as its matter collides to create asteroids, planets, and other celestial bodies.
During this process, comets will probably deposit the majority of this water as they impact with new worlds to produce oceans.
These findings suggest that water-covered planets like Earth could be common in the universe.
