The James Webb Space Telescope has detected the presence of water in the inner disk around a young star where giant planets have already formed further away. According to a report by Nature on Monday (July 24), this research took place within the MINDS collaboration.

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected the presence of water in the inner disk around a young star where giant planets have already formed further away. According to a report by Nature on Monday (July 24), this research took place within the MINDS collaboration. This is the first sighting of water at a stage when the disk has already lost most of its material. And as per a report by Radboud University, any rocky planet arising in the inner disk would benefit from a significant local water reservoir and increases the likelihood of ‘habitability’ at a later stage. "Terrestrial and sub-Neptune planets are expected to form in the inner (less than 10 AU) regions of protoplanetary disks," the Nature report on Monday said, adding, water plays an important role in their formation but it is unclear whether water molecules are formed in situ or transported from the outer disk. Observations detect water near centre of inner disk The observations with the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) aboard the James Webb Space Telescope detected water near the centre of the disk, close to its parent star PDS 70, which is approximately 370 light years away from Earth. This is the region in the solar system where rocky planets orbit the sun. Analysis showed that the water is hot vapour at a temperature of no less than 230 degrees Celsius. Thomas Henning, the co-author of the paper, said that the discovery is exciting as it involves the region where rocky planets like Earth normally form. Previous studies found no water in the central regions of disks that evolved similarly. “The inner edges of evolved and low-dust disks may not be as dry as we previously thought. If this is true, many terrestrial planets arising in these zones could well be born with a key ingredient that makes life possible,” Rens Waters from Radboud University, who is also the co-author of the study, said. The MINDS collaboration is probing investigating different scenarios to explain their findings. Astronomer Giulia Perotti, who is the lead author of the research, said, "We may now have found evidence that water could also serve as one of the first ingredients of rocky planets and be available immediately after their birth." Till now, no planets have so far been found near the centre of the PDS 70 disk. Astronomers earlier discovered two gas giants further away: PDS 70 b and c. And as they grew, these planets accumulated dust and gas as they orbited their parent star, creating a wide ring-shaped gap containing almost no observable material. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Webb Telescope detects presence of water in inner disk around young star: Research

Astrophysicists from the&nbsp;Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) have detected a dozen sources of ultra high-energy gamma rays from hot spots&nbsp;in our Milky Way galaxy,&nbsp;according to a study in the journal Nature.

Gamma rays with such high energy have never been detected before, and the findings suggest these rays can come not just from dying stars, but are also generated inside massive young stars.

''These results are really stunning,&nbsp;some of the most exciting I have ever seen,''&nbsp;said Alan Watson, an astrophysicist working with the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina.

Astrophysicist Cao Zhen&nbsp;team traced 530 high-energy gamma rays to 12 sources including a massive cluster of young stars called the Cygnus Cocoon and the interstellar cloud called the Crab Nebula.

Gamma rays are a type of extreme radiation generated by the hottest and brightest explosions in the universe, like when a large star implodes.

Those implosions also create the matter that make up planets&nbsp;and everything that lives on them, including us. Of all the electromagnetic waves in the universe, gamma rays have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy. They can release more energy in 10 seconds than our sun in 10 billion years.

The pool of purified water at LHAASO that Cao paddled across measures the subatomic shrapnel the air shower&nbsp;in the observatory's name&nbsp;created when gamma rays and high energy particles called cosmic rays crash into the Earth's atmosphere.

The shrapnel includes mysterious particles called muons that can be seen as faint blue flashes known as Cherenkov radiation in the observatory's dark water. The array of 3,120 beachball-sized globes contain tiny sensors that measure the radiation.

''We can trace these gamma rays back to their source in the sky,''&nbsp;said Cao, dressed in blue scrubs to keep the water clean. ''We can find something new.''

LHAASO is one of dozens of devices on Earth and in orbit suspended in ice tunnels in Antarctica or inside toaster-sized satellites,&nbsp;trying to understand how matter such as carbon, oxygen and iron came to be.

Located near the 4,400-meter-tall (14,500-foot-tall) Haizi Mountain, it houses separate instruments that can study different phenomena, including cosmic rays, high energy subatomic particles that scientists believe come from the same sources as gamma rays.

Cosmic rays are like sparks from a massive stellar crucible each contains flecks of material from the forging process. Gamma rays are more like light from a glowing hearth. By studying both, the observatory can learn more about what generated them.

''The Chinese observatory offers unprecedented sensitivity,''&nbsp;said Avi Loeb, a Harvard University astrophysicist, that may, for example, help physicists tell whether if some rays come from inside our galaxy or farther away.

It's not yet complete, however. Cao said that by the end of June the instruments will be in place, including 5,195 electromagnetic detectors, 1,188 muon detectors, and 18 Cherenkov telescopes each the size of a shipping container that will study air showers in the sky.

''The outcome really justifies the massive effort,''&nbsp;Watson said of the new findings. ''This is just the tip of the iceberg.''

Astrophysicists from the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) have detected a dozen sources of ultra high-energy gamma rays from hot spots in our Milky Way galaxy, according to a study in the journal Nature.

Astrophysicists from the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) have detected a dozen sources of ultra high-energy gamma rays from hot spots in our Milky Way galaxy, according to a study in the journal Nature. Gamma rays with such high energy have never been detected before, and the findings suggest these rays can come not just from dying stars, but are also generated inside massive young stars. ''These results are really stunning, some of the most exciting I have ever seen,'' said Alan Watson, an astrophysicist working with the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. Astrophysicist Cao Zhen team traced 530 high-energy gamma rays to 12 sources including a massive cluster of young stars called the Cygnus Cocoon and the interstellar cloud called the Crab Nebula. Gamma rays are a type of extreme radiation generated by the hottest and brightest explosions in the universe, like when a large star implodes. Those implosions also create the matter that make up planets and everything that lives on them, including us. Of all the electromagnetic waves in the universe, gamma rays have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy. They can release more energy in 10 seconds than our sun in 10 billion years. The pool of purified water at LHAASO that Cao paddled across measures the subatomic shrapnel the air shower in the observatory's name created when gamma rays and high energy particles called cosmic rays crash into the Earth's atmosphere. The shrapnel includes mysterious particles called muons that can be seen as faint blue flashes known as Cherenkov radiation in the observatory's dark water. The array of 3,120 beachball-sized globes contain tiny sensors that measure the radiation. ''We can trace these gamma rays back to their source in the sky,'' said Cao, dressed in blue scrubs to keep the water clean. ''We can find something new.'' LHAASO is one of dozens of devices on Earth and in orbit suspended in ice tunnels in Antarctica or inside toaster-sized satellites, trying to understand how matter such as carbon, oxygen and iron came to be. Located near the 4,400-meter-tall (14,500-foot-tall) Haizi Mountain, it houses separate instruments that can study different phenomena, including cosmic rays, high energy subatomic particles that scientists believe come from the same sources as gamma rays. Cosmic rays are like sparks from a massive stellar crucible each contains flecks of material from the forging process. Gamma rays are more like light from a glowing hearth. By studying both, the observatory can learn more about what generated them. ''The Chinese observatory offers unprecedented sensitivity,'' said Avi Loeb, a Harvard University astrophysicist, that may, for example, help physicists tell whether if some rays come from inside our galaxy or farther away. It's not yet complete, however. Cao said that by the end of June the instruments will be in place, including 5,195 electromagnetic detectors, 1,188 muon detectors, and 18 Cherenkov telescopes each the size of a shipping container that will study air showers in the sky. ''The outcome really justifies the massive effort,'' Watson said of the new findings. ''This is just the tip of the iceberg.''

Astrophysicists detect gamma rays from surprising cosmic sources

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