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PDS 70 Inner Disk (Artist Concept)
This artist concept portrays the star PDS 70 and its inner protoplanetary disk. New measurements by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected water vapor at distances of less than 100 million miles from the star – the region where rocky, terrestrial planets may be forming. This is the first detection of water in the terrestrial region of a disk already known to host two or more protoplanets, one of which is shown at upper right.
About the Object
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Centaurus
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.PDS 70
- Release DateJuly 24, 2023
- Science ReleaseWebb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone
- CreditImage: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
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Water in Protoplanetary Disk of PDS 70 (MIRI Emission Spectrum)
A spectrum of the protoplanetary disk of PDS 70, obtained with Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), displays a number of emission lines from water vapor. Scientists determined that the water is in the system’s inner disk, at distances of less than 100 million miles from the...
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Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
