In a region where one or more planets may soon form, astronomers have discovered an amount of water that is three times greater than the total volume of all Earth’s oceans combined.
Using the ALMA Observatory – the most powerful radio telescope in the world located in the Atacama Desert of Chile – scientists have detected a massive “cosmic sea” situated 450 light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Taurus.
This area surrounds a young, small star enveloped by a protoplanetary disk, showing faint signs of the impending formation of the first planet known as HL Tauri.
And within this region lies an astonishing amount of water vapor.
Protoplanetary Disk of HL Tauri – (Image: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO).
Estimates suggest that the water present could equal the combined volume of the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans, multiplied by three!
According to astronomer Stefano Facchini from the University of Milan (Italy), the lead researcher, this discovery indicates how the presence of water may influence the development of a star system.
What we are observing in the constellation Taurus could be a snapshot of our Solar System 4.5 billion years ago, when the “seed” of Earth and other sibling planets were forming from a dense protoplanetary disk of gas and dust.
More intriguingly, we might be looking at a younger version of Earth, just 4.5 billion years old.
A summary of the research on Space.com indicates that the water in HL Tauri is not evenly distributed, but is most abundant in a small trench within the disk.
Trenches in a protoplanetary disk form when gas and dust accumulate in certain locations to create a protoplanet. Therefore, in this water-rich area, a planet could be in the process of forming.
Where there is water, there is hope for life. Thus, it is entirely possible that we are gazing at a planet that billions of years from now could host a civilization similar to ours, a world with mountains, rivers, and lakes across vast continents and oceans.
Water vapor is also believed to significantly influence the chemical composition and formation of a planet.
This discovery not only marks an important step in our understanding of how a planet is born but also represents a significant achievement for ALMA.
Finding signs of water in a region as distant as 450 light-years is a remarkable feat, especially for ground-based observatories that often have to observe through the atmosphere.
However, ground-based telescopes are facilities equipped with more sophisticated, albeit bulkier, machinery than space telescopes. Therefore, maximizing their potential opens new doors for humanity in the field of astronomy.
