Water in our Solar System may have similar origins to that at V883 Ori (IMAGE)

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Water in our Solar System may have similar origins to that at V883 Ori

Caption

While searching for the origins of water in our Solar System, scientists homed in on V883 Orionis, a unique protostar located 1,305 light-years away from Earth. Unlike with other protostars, the circumstellar disk surrounding V883 Ori is just hot enough that the water in it has transformed from ice into gas, making it possible for scientists to study its composition using radio telescopes like those at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Radio observations of the protostar, revealed water (orange), a dust continuum (green), and molecular gas (blue), which suggests that the water on this protostar is extremely similar to the water on objects in our own Solar System, and may have similar origins.

Credit

ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), J. Tobin, B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

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No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

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