Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have detected gaseous water in the planet-forming disc around the star V883 Orionis. This water carries a chemical signature that explains the journey of water from star-forming gas clouds to planets, and supports the idea that water on Earth is even older than our Sun.
The star V883 Orionis contains the explanation for the journey of water from star-forming gas clouds to planets, supporting the idea that water on Earth is even older than our Sun. A team of astronomers detected water in the form of gas in the planet-forming disk surrounding the star V883 Orionis, using the ALMA telescope, located in Chile. This water carries a chemical signature that would explain the journey of water from star-forming gas clouds to planets, supporting the idea that Earth’s water is even older than our Sun. “We can now trace the origins of water in our solar system to before the Sun formed,” says John J. Tobin, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (USA) and lead author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
This discovery was made while studying the composition of the water present in V883 Orionis, a planetary formation disk located about 1,300 light years from Earth, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) reports in a note.
source: