Produced by: Manoj Kumar
ALMA detected water vapour around HL Tauri equal to three Earth oceans—possibly the largest stash of interstellar water ever seen this close to planet formation.
HL Tauri, 450 light-years away, sits in a swirling disk of dust and gas where baby planets may be forming—a scene reminiscent of Earth’s own ancient origin story.
Scientists see this vapour not just as moisture—but as a signpost. Water here could kickstart the chemistry for life on worlds not yet born.
The disk around HL Tauri mimics what scientists think our solar system looked like 4.5 billion years ago—making it a time machine for studying Earth’s watery past.
The vast water presence could act as a planetary midwife, helping cool material in the disk and shaping the ingredients for rocky, habitable worlds.
Lead author Stefano Facchini calls it “an image of oceans of water vapour in the same region where a planet is likely forming”—a vision both scientific and poetic.
Water is a universal solvent, and its presence in such a young system hints at the potential for prebiotic chemistry—and possibly life—elsewhere in the galaxy.
Thanks to the sharp eye of ALMA, scientists were able to detect vapour signatures at millimeter wavelengths—something invisible to regular telescopes.
This discovery might hold the key to understanding why Earth has water—and whether other planets across the universe could follow the same wet, life-bearing path.