The Webb Telescope has identified water vapor in discs of rocky material circling a young sun that could eventually form a proto-planet, the first time scientists have found signs of water early in the formation of a planetary system, CNN reports.
The discovery of water in planetary discs in a solar system with a star that is just 5.4 million years old–compared to ours, which is 4.6 billion years old–contradicts the theory that water vapor would be destroyed by the solar radiation coming from the star before the planet could form.
While astronomers have identified water on exoplanets in the past, the discovery of water in such a young solar system in a proto-planet that will become a rocky world in the so-called “Goldilocks zone” indicates the frequency of Earth-like worlds may be greater than expected. It could also change the theories on how and when Earth collected its water.