Water in the HL Tauri disc (IMAGE)

ESO

Water in the HL Tauri disc

Caption

Astronomers have found water vapour in a disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. In this image, the new observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, show the water vapour in shades of blue. Near the centre of the disc, where the young star lives, the environment is hotter and the gas brighter. The red-hued rings are previous ALMA observations showing the distribution of dust around the star.

Credit

ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Facchini et al.

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License

CC BY

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