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    First-ever detection of ‘heavy water’ in a planet-forming disk

    October 16, 2025, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    This artist’s impression shows the evolution of heavy water molecules (H2O, HDO, and D2O) as they have been observed in giant molecular clouds, a planet forming-disk, and comets—before they eventually may have made their way to Earth.
    Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/P. Vosteen, B. Saxton

    The discovery of ancient water in a planet-forming disk reveals that some of the water found in comets—and maybe even Earth—is older than the disk’s star itself, offering breakthrough insights into the history of water in our solar system.

    Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have made a first-ever detection of doubly deuterated water (Dâ‚‚O, or “heavy water”) in a planet-forming disk around V883 Ori, a young star...

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