Tag Archive for 'Heavy water'

This image from the Subaru Telescope shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: NAOJ.

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Formed in Ultra-Cold Planetary System, ALMA Reveals

Apr 28, 2026 by News Staff

Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, hence its H2O formula. In typical water molecules, though, those hydrogen atoms have just one...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of heavy water molecules 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. Image credit: NSF / AUI / NSF’s NRAO / P. Vosteen / B. Saxton.

ALMA Detects Heavy Water in Planet-Forming Disk around Distant Protostar

Oct 17, 2025 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected doubly deuterated water (D2O), or ‘heavy water,’ in the protoplanetary...

V883 Orionis is a unique protostar whose temperature is just hot enough that the water in its circumstellar disk has turned to gas, making it possible for radio astronomers to trace the water’s origins. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

Deuterium-Enriched Water Ties Protoplanetary Disks to Comets and Protostars

Mar 9, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected gaseous water in the planet-forming disk around V883 Orionis, a...

Heavy Water Has Sweet Taste, New Study Confirms

Jun 1, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

Highly purified heavy water has a distinctly sweeter taste than same-purity normal (light) water, according to a study conducted by researchers from the...

Hubble captured this view of comet 46P/Wirtanen on December 13, 2018. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Bodewits, Auburn University / J.-Y. Li, Planetary Science Institute.

Hyperactive Comets Contain ‘Ocean-Like’ Water

May 31, 2019 by News Staff

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) observed the hyperactive Jupiter-family comet 46P/Wirtanen as it made its closest approach...

An illustration of water in our Solar System through time from before the formation of the Sun through the creation of the planets. Image credit: Bill Saxton / NSF / AUI / NRAO.

Half of Water on Earth Older than Sun, Scientists Say

Sep 26, 2014 by News Staff

Half of the water on our planet predates the formation of the Sun, according to a groundbreaking study carried out by a team of researchers from the United...