How Comets In Distant Solar Systems Could Deliver Oceans to Exoplanets
Cool, Clear Water The nearby star TW Hydrae has a burgeoning solar system with a sprawling cloud of cold water vapor. The vapor is cold enough to eventually form comets, which could deliver oceans to dry planets that are forming in the system. NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle A pair of new comet studies from two space telescopes show how other planets might grow oceans. For the first time, astronomers have detected a ring of cold water vapor encircling a young star's dusty planetary disk. And a separate study in a different star system shows a hailstorm of icy bodies could be bombarding a young planet. Together, the studies bolster a theory about how comets may have delivered Earth's oceans - and they show this is not a unique occurrence in the universe. Today's issue of the journal Science contains a paper describing cold water surrounding a young star called TW...