Inbox Astronomy: Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone

INBOX ASTRONOMY

Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone

Release date: Monday, July 24, 2023 11:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

The finding shows that a water reservoir is available for terrestrial planets that might be coalescing there.

Water, water, everywhere – not in drops, but as steam. Scientists using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have discovered that thirsty planets in the PDS 70 system have access to a reservoir of water. Importantly, the water vapor was found within 100 million miles of the star – the region where terrestrial planets like Earth may be forming. (The Earth orbits 93 million miles from our Sun.)

PDS 70 is cooler than our Sun, and is estimated to be 5.4 million years old. It is home to two known gas giant planets, at least one of which is still accreting material and growing. This is the first detection of water in the terrestrial region of a disk already known to host two or more protoplanets.

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Find additional articles, images, and videos at WebbTelescope.org

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