James Webb Discovers Water Surrounding Comet in Main Asteroid Belt

James Webb Space Telescope discovers water surrounding a comet in the main asteroid belt for the first time
The finding suggests that water vapor can be preserved in warmer areas of our solar system
The discovery involves the Comet Read, which is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

The James Webb Space Telescope has made another amazing discovery: a rare comet in the main asteroid belt surrounded by water.

The finding is the first time that water has been detected in a main-belt comet, a type of comet located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The recent discovery comes after 15 years of astronomers' attempts to utilize different observation methods.

Water Surrounding a Main Asteroid Belt Comet

Astronomers could use the space observatory to detect water vapor surrounding the comet known as Read. This finding suggests that water ice can be preserved in a warmer part of our solar system. Scientists published a study detailing the journal Nature's findings on Monday, as per CNN.

The finding comes as comets typically exist somewhere in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, which are icy regions beyond Neptune's orbit. These areas can preserve some of the frozen materials left over from the solar system's formation.

These cosmic objects traverse long, oval-shaped orbits around our sun, taking them thousands of years to complete. They produce streaming tails that develop as the frigid things sometimes pass closer to the sun. Comets' fuzzy appearance and tails of material differentiate comets from asteroids.

Scientists did not expect main belt colts to retain much ice due to being in areas considered much warmer than others. The latest discovery changes this train of thought and provides evidence to the theory of how water became a plentiful resource on Earth during our planet's early history.

Despite the discovery, this finding has brought another mystery regarding the universe for astronomers to solve. This is that while carbon dioxide normally represents 10% of the potentially vaporized material in a comet, James Webb did not detect any in Read, according to Engadget.

Water Vapor in Warmer Areas of the Solar System

Astronomers theorize that the CO2 either dissipated over the billions of years that the comet has existed or that Read formed in a comparatively balmy part of our solar system that does not contain any CO2.

The finding comes as Read was one of the first cosmic objects used to establish the main belt comte category. Furthermore, James Webb is the first piece of human technology powerful enough to study these types of comets in detail.

Astronomer Michael Kelley from the University of Maryland, who was the one who led the research, said that humans have previously seen objects in the main belt having the characteristics of comets.

However, he noted that it was all thanks to James Webb's precise spectral data that they could confidently say that it was water ice that created that effect. He added that the observations of Read allow them to demonstrate that water ice from the early history of our solar system can be preserved in the asteroid belt, said Space.