Three times water from Earth's oceans has been seen, in the form of water vapor, in a cradle of planets around a young star.
It is the first time that the role of water in the birth of planets has been observed and the result, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, is due to international research based on data from the Alma radio telescope of the European Southern Observatory and coordinated by the Italian group of State University of Milan led by astrophysicist Stefano Facchini.
Astronomer Leonardo Testi, from the University of Bologna, collaborated in the research.
"I would never have imagined being able to take a photograph of oceans of water vapor in the same region where a planet is likely to form," said Facchini.
The large quantities of water vapor were detected in the internal regions of the disk of the young star HL Tauri, similar to the Sun and 450 light years away.
The research demonstrates for the first time how water can play a crucial role not only in the birth of life, but also in the dynamics that lead to the birth of planets.
The incredible sight of Alma, an acronym for Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the only instrument capable of providing such detailed analyzes today, made it possible to identify the water vapor released by the ice-covered dust grains surrounding the young star .
Small lumps which will then give life, through impacts, to increasingly larger bodies.
"Our results - added Facchini - show how the presence of water can influence the development of a planetary system, just as it happened 4.5 billion years ago in our Solar System".
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