Latest news with #ChenXie
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Is there frozen water just floating around in outer space like 'dirty snowballs'?
GREENBELT, Md. – Astronomers now believe frozen water might be a common sight outside of our solar system thanks to newly reviewed data from Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope. According to the space agency, scientists have confirmed the presence of ice around HD 181327, a star that is similar to our Sun. The giant star is located about 155 light-years away from Earth and is thought to be around 23 million years old – much younger than the 4.6-billion-year-old Sun. But similar to our solar system's star, HD 181327 is surrounded by a large, dusty debris and that is where scientists say the ice exists. Previous research had suggested the presence of frozen water, but its potential existence wasn't solidified until after the Webb became operational. "Webb unambiguously detected not just water ice, but crystalline water ice, which is also found in locations like Saturn's rings and icy bodies in our solar system's Kuiper Belt," Chen Xie, the lead author of the new paper and an assistant research scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said in a statement. See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon Scientists described the ice as resembling dirty snowballs and published an artist rendering of what the phenomenon would look like if an astronaut had a front-row seat to the icy belt. As any novice would surmise, the debris disk is said to vary in water ice thickness, from being heavily populated to non-existent the closer you move to the star. "In the area of the debris disk closest to the star, Webb detected almost none. It's likely that the star's ultraviolet light vaporizes the closest specks of water ice. It's also possible that rocks known as planetesimals have "locked up" frozen water in their interiors, which Webb can't detect," NASA stated. Why is finding ice so important? It may lead to planet formation and bring together the origins of life. "The presence of water ice helps facilitate planet formation," Xie stated. "Icy materials may also ultimately be 'delivered' to terrestrial planets that may form over a couple hundred million years in systems like this." Water ice has already been observed in numerous locations within our solar system, including on Mercury, Mars, Saturn, our Moon, other planets' moons, and the Kuiper Belt. Scientists say what Webb has not picked up on yet are planets around HD 181327, which could be for various reasons, including the infancy of the distant solar system. Future Of Nasa's Mega Moon Rocket Appears In Doubt Following Major Boeing Announcement The Webb is nearing four years in space and has already beamed back stunning images that far surpass the quality of imagery produced by the Hubble and other older telescopes. NASA believes operations of the James Webb Space Telescope have exceeded expectations, and the space observatory could easily exceed its expected 10-year article source: Is there frozen water just floating around in outer space like 'dirty snowballs'?
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
James Webb Space Telescope discovers an alien planetary system's icy edge
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. At long last, particles of water–ice have been discovered in the frozen Kuiper Belt of another star. The discovery, made by the James Webb Space Telescope, is a major step forward in filling in gaps in our understanding of how exoplanets develop. Like the Kuiper Belt in our solar system, this extraterrestrial debris disk is likely filled with comets, dwarf planets and a lot of water-ice particles chipped off larger bodies as the result of collisions. The debris disk, also like our Kuiper Belt, is made up of remnants of a larger disk that once encircled the star — called HD 181327 — and probably gave birth to planets. To be clear, however, no planets in the region have been detected thus far. Because water is one of the most common molecules in the universe, its presence in HD 181327's debris disk is not a surprise. Indeed, exocomets have been detected around other stars; in our solar system, comets come from the frigid, icy Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, so exocomets must originate from somewhere similar. However, while debris disks around other stars have been known about and imaged ever since the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) found debris disks around two nearby stars (Vega and beta Pictoris) a while back, we've not had an instrument able to detect water-ice within them until now. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec), astronomers led by Chen Xie of Johns Hopkins University in the United States probed the debris disk around HD 181327. The star and its debris disk have previously been well-studied. Located 155.6 light-years away, they are just 18.5 million years old. This is extremely young compared to our sun's age of 4.6 billion years. The star is an F-type, meaning it's a little hotter and slightly more massive than our sun. NIRSpec detected the signature water in HD 181327's spectrum, principally at a wavelength of 3 microns (millionths of a meter), with a peak coming at 3.1 microns. This spike in the spectrum, referred to as a "Fresnel peak," is caused by the refraction of light by water-ice particles that are just millimeters in size. This is similar in size to the icy particles in Saturn's rings, for example, and the ice is likely frozen around motes of interplanetary dust. "Basically, we detected a water–ice reservoir," Xie told This water–ice reservoir could be instrumental in the development of any planetary system that might exist around HD 181327. Gas giant planets, for example, form beyond a boundary called the snow line, which is the distance from a star where temperatures are cold enough for planet-forming material to contain water-ice. Water-ice helps material stick together in a giant kind of mush that can form the basis of a large, rocky planetary core that can then pull in gas to form the distended atmosphere of a giant planet. The water on terrestrial planets such as Earth also likely was delivered by asteroids and/or comets that formed beyond the snow line and are rich in water-ice. Therefore, the discovery of water-ice in HD 181327's debris disk means the materials are present there to aid in the development of any planets orbiting the star, although at this time no planets have yet been detected in the system. "The presence of a water-ice reservoir in the planetesimal belt around HD 181327 provides the potential to deliver water to nearby planets," said Xie. "But we don't know how much water-ice could eventually be delivered to the planets in the system." It's tempting to make comparisons between our Kuiper Belt and HD 181327's debris disk. Xie warns about being too literal in the comparison, though, because there are significant gaps in our knowledge of both icy belts and how they relate to each other. Nevertheless, we can draw some general conclusions. "The presence of water-ice in a debris disk around such a young star does suggest that icy planetesimals can form relatively quickly, so it's possible that icy bodies in our own Kuiper Belt could have formed early in the cold outer regions of the solar system," he said. Their early existence could have then helped in the development of the solar system's planets. However, the planet-forming disk around HD 181327 has now dissipated, and any planets that are present will have already formed. Furthermore, the JWST's observations show how the inner region of the debris disk is being eroded by the star's ultraviolet light. The strength of the spectral line for water-ice at the inner edge of the debris disk, 80 to 90 astronomical units (meaning 80 to 90 times Earth's distance from the sun), suggests water-ice makes up just 0.1% of the total mass in that part of the disk. Farther out, between 90 and 105 astronomical units, the water-ice mass fraction rises to 7.5%, and between 105 and 120 astronomical units it peaks at 21%, out where it is coldest. Coincidentally, the Fresnel peak is found between 90 and 105 astronomical units. So, what's going on? Ultraviolet light from the star is able to vaporize the water-ice, but something seems to be replenishing it — otherwise, the water-ice in the debris disk would have eroded away by now. This replenishment likely comes from collisions between dwarf planets, cometary nuclei, micrometeoroids and other flotsam and jetsam lurking in the dark of the debris disk. Each impact sputters more dust and ice grains into space, and each large impact sends a shower of fragments spinning away. If there's enough dust present, it could also shield water-ice from the star's ultraviolet light. Dust that has been detected already includes grains of olivine and iron sulfide. Related Stories: — 2nd Kuiper Belt? Our solar system may be much larger than thought — Hubble Telescope discovers a new '3-body problem' puzzle among Kuiper Belt asteroids (video) — New JWST observations of 'trans-Neptunian objects' could help reveal our solar system's past Meanwhile, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which is a radio telescope in Chile, has detected carbon monoxide in the debris disk, which could also have been released into space by collisions between icy bodies. In addition, the JWST's NIRSpec found tentative evidence for the presence of carbon dioxide in the region of the disk between 105 and 120 astronomical units from the star, although this still needs to be confirmed. A second spectral line for water-ice, at 4.5 microns, was also detected by the JWST in the 105 to 120 astronomical-unit region, indicating this outer part of the debris disk might be the most rich in volatiles: gases with low evaporation points. Now that the JWST has demonstrated that it can detect water-ice in exoplanetary systems, we can expect more widespread discoveries in the future. Indeed, Xie and his team are already working on it. "Besides HD 181327, we have also observed other systems with the JWST and NIRSPec," he said. "We're currently working on publishing those data, so stay tuned!" The discovery of water-ice around HD 181327 was published on May 14 in the journal Nature.
NDTV
17-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
NASA's James Webb Telescope Spots Frozen Water In Distant Star System For The First Time
Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of astronomers has confirmed the presence of frozen water in a distant but young star system. While scientists have found plenty of water ice in our solar system, it is the first time that they have definitive proof of frozen water in other star systems. The details, published in the journal Nature, state that crystalline water ice has been found in a dusty debris disk that orbits a Sun-like star, only 23 million years old, 155 light-years away. The star is slightly more massive and hotter than the Sun, which led to the formation of a slightly larger system around it. Webb's findings showed there is a significant gap between the star, named HD 181327, and its debris disk, which is similar to our solar system's Kuiper Belt. "Webb unambiguously detected not just water ice, but crystalline water ice, which is also found in locations like Saturn's rings and icy bodies in our solar system's Kuiper Belt," said Chen Xie, the lead author of the new paper. "HD 181327 is a very active system. There are regular, ongoing collisions in its debris disk. When those icy bodies collide, they release tiny particles of dusty water ice that are perfectly sized for Webb to detect." Implication The presence of water ice in a similar region could point towards a pattern about how planetary systems evolve across the universe. It may be more than a coincidence that the first confirmed water ice we're seeing around another star mirrors the distribution of our solar system. Additionally, the water ice is not spread evenly throughout this system, with the majority of it found where it's coldest and farthest from the star. "Toward the middle of the debris disk, Webb detected about eight per cent water ice. Here, it's likely that frozen water particles are produced slightly faster than they are destroyed." Scientists have long posited that ice could be present in debris disks, but prior to Webb, they did not have the instruments sensitive enough to make such observations. After the success with HD 181327, the researchers are expected to increase their efforts to search for and study water ice in debris disks in actively forming planetary systems throughout the Milky Way galaxy.
Hindustan Times
17-05-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
NASA's Webb confirms 1st discovery of frozen water around young star just like Solar system
In a historic finding, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed that crystalline water ice exists in the debris disk surrounding HD 181327, a young star that resembles the sun. The study, published in Nature, is the first clear-cut evidence of frozen water in an atmosphere outside of the solar system. The water ice, which is present with small dust particles, aids in the understanding of the early phases of the evolution of planetary systems. Webb's delicate instruments opened a fresh chapter in the study of planet formation by observing the detailed spectra that revealed the structure and arrangement of ice particles across the disk. The ice that Webb discovered has a crystalline structure, which is also present in other well-researched regions of the solar system, like the Kuiper Belt and Saturn's rings. 'Webb unambiguously detected not just water ice, but crystalline water ice, which is also found in locations like Saturn's rings and icy bodies in our solar system's Kuiper Belt,' said Chen Xie, the study's principal author and assistant research scientist at Johns Hopkins University. The small, dusty water ice particles that Webb's instruments picked up were the result of collisions inside the debris disk. These frozen granules support the theory that planet formation processes may be common throughout the galaxy by directly connecting to circumstances that may have prevailed in the early solar system. Also Read: Indian astronaut to travel soon to ISS as part of ISRO-NASA Mission Water ice is not evenly distributed across the debris disk of HD 181327. According to Webb's observations, the outer portions, where the temperature is low enough to maintain frozen water, have a high concentration of ice. 'The outer area of the debris disk consists of over 20% water ice,' Chen Xie stated. As one moves inward, the amount of ice drops decreases significantly. The areas nearest to the star have almost no water ice, whereas the center of the disk has about 8%. This gradient is probably caused by the UV rays from the star vaporizing the water ice in the warmer, inner regions. Furthermore, some water might be trapped inside planetesimals, which are expansive bodies that are challenging for Webb to detect. The physical and chemical conditions of newborn planetary systems can be inferred from this unequal distribution.
