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James Webb telescope finds ice older than the star it orbits
(arstechnica.com)submitted 3 hours ago by budbl.com (#1) to Science | discuss | bury
Ars Technica reports that astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have found water and carbon dioxide ice in the disk around the young star Beta Pictoris, about 64 light-years away. A team led by Sarah Betti found glassy water ice mixed with carbon dioxide in proportions similar to comets in our own Solar System. The researchers argue that frequent collisions among planetesimals may replenish ice that would otherwise be destroyed by starlight, according to a study in Science.