US EditionAstronomers Find Earth's Water May Predate the Sun
Detection of doubly deuterated water in V883 Ori's disk shows water molecules are older than the star, indicating water in comets and planets has an ancient interstellar origin.
- Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detected doubly deuterated water in the planet-forming disk around V883 Ori, reported in Nature Astronomy by Margot Leemker.
- In cold molecular clouds, water forms on dust grains where deuterium, produced seconds after the Big Bang, creates heavy water molecules like HDO as a chemical fingerprint.
- Building on prior HDO work, new D2O measurements show abundance similar to molecular clouds and one comet, reinforcing cross-reservoir similarity in V883 Ori's disk.
- Margot Leemker said `Our detection indisputably demonstrates that the water seen in this planet-forming disk must be older than the central star and formed at the earliest stages of star and planet formation,` suggesting planetary systems may inherit water linking disks, comets and Earth.
- ALMA, an international observatory, operated by ESO, NSF, and NAOJ, relies on JAO’s joint leadership and funding to achieve sensitive measurements behind this discovery.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Pristine ices in a planet-forming disk revealed by heavy water - Nature Astronomy
Water is essential to our understanding of the planet-formation process and habitability on Earth. Although trace amounts of water are seen across all phases of star and planet formation, the bulk of the water reservoir often goes undetected, hiding crucial parts of its journey from giant molecular clouds to planets. This raises the question of whether water molecules in comets and (exo-)planets is largely inherited from the interstellar medium …
First-ever detection of 'heavy water' in a planet-forming disk
The discovery of ancient water in a planet-forming disk reveals that some of the water found in comets—and maybe even Earth—is older than the disk's star itself, offering breakthrough insights into the history of water in our solar system.
The international team of astronomers first confirmed the discovery of heavy water. This is a rare form of H2O containing atoms of the heavy isotope deuterium. It is contained in a protoplanet disc around a young star — a cluster of matter from which planets form. This discovery may indicate that the water that we drink on Earth formed before the Sun came into existence, wrote IFLScience. A study published in the journal Nature Astronomy was car…
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