Press release
February 29, 2024
Researchers have discovered water vapour in the disk around a young star, exactly where planets could form. Water is an important element of life on Earth and probably also plays an important role in planet formation. However, until now we have not been able to determine the distribution of water in a stable, cold disk – the type of disk that offers the most favourable conditions for planet formation around stars. The new findings were made possible by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is involved.
“I never thought we could capture an image of water vapor oceans in the same region where a planet is likely to form.said Stefano Facchini. He is an astronomer at the University of Milan, Italy, and currently heads the University Natural astronomy study published. Observations show that in the inner disk of the young Sun-like star HL Taurilocated 450 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus, contains at least three times more water than all of Earth’s oceans.
“It is truly remarkable that we can not only detect water vapor at a distance of 450 light-years, but also image it in detail and resolve it spatially.adds co-author Leonardo Testi, an astronomer at the University of Bologna, Italy. “Spatially resolved” observations with ALMA allow astronomers to determine the distribution of water in different regions of the disk.Contributing to such an important discovery in the HL Tauri exemplary disk exceeded my expectations for my first astronomy research experience.adds Mathieu Vander Donckt from the University of Liège, Belgium, who participated in the study as a master’s student.
A significant amount of water has been found in the region of known space in the HL Tauri disk. Ring-shaped gaps are created in the gas- and dust-rich disks of young planet-like bodies that are accreting material and growing as they orbit.Our recent images show significant amounts of water vapor at different distances from the star, including a space where a planet could form.said Facchini. This suggests that this water vapor could influence the chemical composition of planets that form in these regions.
Observing water with a ground-based telescope is not an easy task because the abundance of water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere weakens astronomical signals. ALMAoperated by ESO in collaboration with its international partners, is a telescope array located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, at an altitude of about 5000 metres. It was specifically built in a high, dry environment to minimise this impact and create exceptional observing conditions.To date, ALMA is the only facility capable of spatially resolving water in a cold planetary disk.says co-author Wouter Vlemmings, a professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden (1).
“It’s really exciting to directly observe how water molecules are released from icy dust particles in an image” says Elizabeth Humphreys, an astronomer at ESO who also participated in the study. These dust grains that make up a disk are the core of the Formation of planets. As they orbit the star, they collide and clump together to form ever larger bodies. Astronomers say it’s cold enough there that water freezes on the dust particles, allowing the particles to stick together better – an ideal place for planets to form.Our results show how the presence of water can influence the evolution of a planetary system, just as it did in our own solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.” adds Facchini.
With the ALMA Extension and the extremely large telescope (ELT) from ESO, which will be available in the next decade, will allow us to study planet formation and the role of water in it in greater detail than ever before. In particular METISThe ELT mid-infrared imager and spectrograph will give astronomers an unprecedented view of the inner regions of planet-forming disks, where planets like Earth form.
Endnotes
(1) ALMAs were used for the new observations Volume-5– and volume 7-RECIPIENT used. Bands 5 and 7 are European developments by Chalmers and NOVA (Netherlands Research College for Astronomy) on the one hand, and by IRAM (Institute for Radio Astronomy at Millimeter Wavelengths) on the other, with the participation of ESO. Band 5 extends ALMA to include a new frequency range specifically suited to detecting and imaging water in the local universe. In this study, the team observed three spectral lines of water across the two frequency ranges of the receiver to image gas at different temperatures inside the disk.
Further information
This research was published in a publication entitled “Resolved ALMA observations of water in the inner astronomical units of the HL Tau disk» presented in Nature Astronomy (is what i:10.1038/s41550-024-02207-w) appears.
The team is composed of S. Facchini (Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy), L. Testi (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi”, Università di Bologna, Italy), E. Humphreys (European Southern Observatory, Germany, ALMA Joint Observatory, Chile; European Southern Observatory Vitacura, Chile), M. Vander Donckt (Institute for Research in Science, Technology and Astrophysics (STAR), University of Liège, Belgium), A. Isella (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, USA (Rice)), R. Wrzosek (Rice), A. Baudry (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Univ. de Bordeaux, CNRS, France), MD Gray (National Institute for Astronomical Research of Thailand, Thailand), A. M. S. Richards (JBCA, University of Manchester, UK), W. Vlemmings (Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden).
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an international astronomical facility jointly managed by ESO, the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences of Japan (NINS), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is supported by ESO on behalf of its Member Countries, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Institute of Astronomy and Space Science (KASI). In terms of development, construction and operation, ESO leads the European contribution, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), which is in turn operated by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), the North American contribution, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) for the East Asian contribution. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) is responsible for the overall project management for ALMA construction, commissioning and observation operations.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) enables scientists from around the world to unlock the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. We design, build and operate world-class observatories that astronomers use to answer exciting questions and inspire fascination with astronomy, and we promote international collaboration in astronomy. Founded in 1962 as an intergovernmental organisation, ESO is led by 16 Member States (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the Host Country Chile and Australia as strategic partners. ESO Headquarters and its Visitor Centre and Planetarium, ESO Supernova, are located near Munich in Germany, while the Atacama Desert in Chile, a wonderland offering unique conditions for observing the skies, is home to our telescopes. ESO operates three observing sites: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At the Paranal site, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its associated Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as survey telescopes such as VUE. Also at Paranal, ESO will operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world’s largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. In collaboration with international partners, ESO operates APEX and ALMA, two millimetre and submillimetre observing facilities on Chajnantor. On Cerro Armazones, near Paranal, we are building “the world’s largest eye in the sky”: ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope. From our offices in Santiago, Chile, we support our activities in the country and collaborate with Chilean partners and society.
The translations of ESO press releases into English are a service of the ESO Science Outreach Network (ESON), an international astronomy outreach network in which scientists and science communicators from all ESO Member Countries (and some other countries) are represented. It is the German node of the network. House of Astronomy in Heidelberg.
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Contact details
Stefano Facchini
University of Milan
Milan, Italy
Tel: +39 02 503 17254
E-mail: stefano.facchini@unimi.it
Elizabeth Humphreys
European Southern Observatory
Garching near Munich, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6541
E-mail: ehumphre@eso.org
Leonard Testi
University of Bologna
Bologna, Italy
Tel: +39 051 20 9 5763
E-mail: leonardo.testi@unibo.it
Mathieu Vander Donckt
university of Liege
Liege, Belgium
Tel: +32 4 366 9721
E-mail: Mathieu.VanderDonckt@uliege.be
Wouter Vlemmings
Chalmers University of Technology
Gothenburg, Sweden
Tel: +46 31 772 63 54
E-mail: wouter.vlemmings@chalmers.se
Barbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching near Munich, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670
Mobile: +49 151 241 664 00
E-mail: press@eso.org
Markus Nielbock (press contact Germany)
ESO Science Outreach Network and House of Astronomy
Heidelberg, Germany
Tel: +49 6221 528-134
E-mail: eson-germany@eso.org
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This is a translation of ESO press release eso2404.