This discovery provides astronomers with important information about how water moves in space.
Astronomers have made an amazing discovery that reveals how ancient some of the water in our universe actually is.
Using the powerful Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile, scientists have discovered a rare type of water called "heavy water" in a planet-forming disk around a young star called V883 Orionis.
This is the first discovery of heavy water (D₂O) in a planet-forming disk.
Heavy water is like ordinary water (H₂O), but with one difference: it contains a heavier version of hydrogen called deuterium.
The ratio of deuterium to hydrogen acts as a kind of chemical fingerprint that allows scientists to trace the age and origin of water molecules.
In this case, the fingerprint showed that the water in the V883 Ori disk existed long before the star itself was born.
"Our discovery proves that the water we see in this planet-forming disk must be older than the star. It formed during the earliest stages of star and planet formation, which means we are seeing truly ancient water," said lead author Margot Limker, a physicist at the University of Milan.
This discovery gives scientists important information about how water moves in space.
It suggests that some of the water found in comets -- and possibly even the water on Earth -- did not form in young solar systems, but dates back to ancient clouds of gas and dust that existed before the birth of the Sun.
In other words, the water in your morning coffee may be older than the Sun itself.
John Tobin, co-author from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory of the US National Science Foundation, explained that until now, astronomers were unsure whether most of the water in planets and comets was formed recently in young disks or inherited from earlier cosmic stages.
"This discovery shows that much of the water we see in planetary systems is pristine -- it has been inherited from interstellar space," Tobin said.
By measuring the ratio of heavy water (D₂O) to normal water (H₂O), the researchers confirmed that this water came directly from ancient molecular clouds. This is the first solid evidence that water can survive the turbulent process of star and planet formation without being destroyed or transformed.
The discovery helps piece together a cosmic puzzle linking interstellar clouds, planet-forming disks, comets, and planets. Since water is essential for life, understanding its origin can reveal more about how habitable worlds like Earth are formed.
If water can survive for billions of years and countless light-years, it is likely that many young planets throughout the universe were also born with ancient water -- linking life on Earth to the distant past of the universe. | BGNES