Science · 4 views
James Webb telescope finds ice older than the star it orbits
Beta Pictoris is a young star, roughly 20 million years old, and located about 64 light-years away from Earth. It is surrounded by a vast disk of dust and rubble where planets are still forming—astronomers have already found three.
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A team led by astronomer Sarah Betti used the James Webb Space Telescope to examine the dust and debris disk surrounding Beta Pictoris, a roughly 20‑million‑year‑old star about 64 light‑years from Earth. The observations revealed both water ice and carbon‑dioxide ice within the disk, with the water ice appearing glassy rather than crystalline and mixed with carbon dioxide in proportions similar to those found in Solar‑System comets. These findings imply that the raw materials for water‑rich planets may be common around young stars.
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