There’s been a big development in the search for life in the universe, after scientists discovered an enormous presence of water vapour.
The new research focuses on a gas and dust disk surrounding a young star, which was observed using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
The star, named HL Tauri, is found 450 light-years away and surrounded by a staggering amount of vapour [via Geo News].
In fact, it adds up to three times the volume of all the oceans on Earth, and it could mark the birthplace of planets.
According to research published in Nature Astronomy, the volume of vapour could improve the chances that a planet is habitable once it forms there.
The way the amount of vapour around HL Tauri looks to be influencing the birth of new planets and the conditions there could mirror the conditions that were around when the Earth was forming 4.5 billion years ago.
Stefano Facchini from the University of Milan is the lead author on the project and shared his excitement at seeing “an image of oceans of water vapour in the same region where a planet is likely forming.”
Water, as ever, has been fundamental to a number of new scientific developments over recent times.
Scientists recently discovered water is slowly leaking down towards the Earth’s core from the surface.
A scientist also previously found the oldest water ever discovered on Earth and decided the best course of action was, of course, to drink it.
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