The James Webb Space Telescope has helped astronomers find gas around a comet in the main asteroid belt for the first time. NASA said the gas was water vapor.
has helped astronomers find gas around a comet in the main asteroid belt for the first time.
The findings indicate that water ice from the early solar system – which formed about 4.5 billion years ago – can be preserved in that region. An artist’s concept of Comet 238P/Read shows the main belt comet sublimating – its water ice vaporizing as its orbit approaches the Sun. Sublimation is what distinguishes comets from asteroids, creating their distinctive tail and hazy halo.
"Understanding the history of water distribution in the solar system will help us to understand other planetary systems, and if they could be on their way to hosting an Earth-like planet," she noted. These main belt comets are a fairly new classification, and Comet Read was one of three comets used to establish the category.
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