There has been a major development in the search for life in the universe, after scientists discovered the enormous presence of water vapor.
The new research focuses on the disk of gas and dust surrounding a young star, observed using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
The star, called HL Tauri, was found 450 light-years away and surrounded by a surprising amount of vapor [via Geo News].
In fact, it is three times the size of all the oceans on Earth, and could represent the birthplace of planets.
According to research published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the volume of vapor could improve the chances of a planet being habitable once it forms there.
The way the amount of steam around HL Tauri appears to affect the birth of new planets, conditions there could mirror conditions that existed when Earth was forming 4.5 billion years ago.
Stefano Facchini of the University of Milan is the project's lead author, and he was excited to see “an image of oceans of water vapor in the same region where the planet is likely to form.”
Water has been, as it always has been, fundamental to a number of new scientific developments in recent times.
Scientists recently discovered that water is slowly seeping toward the Earth's core from the surface.
A scientist also previously stumbled upon the oldest water ever discovered on Earth, and decided the best course of action was, of course, to drink it.
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