Scientists find water thrice that on Earth swirling around a young star

New Delhi

Water, the universal solvent, has been the cradle in which life on Earth developed. Even when hunting for signs of life in space, the presence of water is taken to be a promising one. Now, scientists have found water, thrice than that in all of Earth's oceans taken together, in a disc around a young star. The water is present in the disc which can subsequently form planet/s revolving around the star. 

The discovery was made by these scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner in the ALMA project.

The scientists have not only captured the image of the star but have also mapped the water swirling in the planet-forming disc.

“I had never imagined that we could capture an image of oceans of water vapour in the same region where a planet is likely forming,” says Stefano Facchini, an astronomer from the University of Milan, as quoted by EurekaAlert.

Facchini led the study which was published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Thursday (Feb 29)

HL Tauri, the star around which the water is swirling is 450 light-years away from Earth in the Taurus constellation.

"It is truly remarkable that we can not only detect but also capture detailed images and spatially resolve water vapour at a distance of 450 light-years from us,” says co-author Leonardo Testi, an astronomer from the University of Bologna, Italy.

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"Taking part in such an important discovery in the iconic HL Tauri disc was beyond what I had ever expected for my first research experience in astronomy,” Mathieu Vander Donckt from the University of Liège, Belgium said. He was a masters student when he took part in the research.

“Our recent images reveal a substantial quantity of water vapour at a range of distances from the star that include a gap where a planet could potentially be forming at the present time,” says Facchini.

All of them were quoted by EurekaAlert.

(With inputs from agencies)