JWST's Detection of Water Around Young Star Reveals Clues to Earth's Origins

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has made science history by finding water for the first time in the inner disk around a young star with large planets.

The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA)-led MINDS research team discovered an incredible finding that sheds light on planet genesis, The National Tribune reported.

Using the JWST, astronauts from MINDS focused on the young star PDS 70, which is around 370 light-years from Earth. A star and a growing planetary system surrounded by a disk of gas and dust where exoplanets are emerging make up the interesting system known as PDS 70.

With two gas giants and what looks to be a moon-forming disk, PDS 70's protoplanetary disk is a fascinating subject for in-depth investigations. Scientists estimate that it is just 5.4 million years old, per Science Alert.

Clues of Habitability

Astronomers have long conjectured about the makeup of the protoplanetary disk's inner area, where rocky planets like Earth are thought to form. Intense UV light and stellar winds were supposed to dry this area. But a key finding from JWST's observations was the existence of water vapor in the inner region of PDS 70's disk.

Outlining the discovery, the study's principal author, MPIA astronomer Giulia Perotti, explained the implications of their findings. Perotti acknowledged they now "have evidence that water could also serve as one of the primary components of rocky planets and be available at birth." He added that the origins of water on terrestrial planets and the possibility of their habitability are exciting questions that this new understanding brings.

Perotti noted that PDS 70 is like the Sun, only "younger and cooler."

The Power of James Webb Space Telescope

The capabilities of the JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) are shown by the discovery of water in the zone where terrestrial planets develop.

JWST detected the tiny signatures of water molecules even in dim, cold disks like PDS 70. "The next step will be to characterize the PDS 70 system with all instruments on board JWST," stressed Dr. Perotti, according to Metro. Moreover, she said that experts aim to "expand" their search to more disks with large voids in order "to find signatures of forming planets and study their composition."

A more thorough knowledge of the inner disk structure of PDS 70 and the possibility of terrestrial planets therein will be made possible by JWST's power in conjunction with high-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) and near-infrared measurements.

This ground-breaking finding expands humanity's understanding of the likelihood of habitability in the vast galaxy by providing new opportunities for investigating planetary formation and the prevalence of water in other emerging planetary systems.