NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has helped astronomers find gas around a comet in the main asteroid belt for the first time.

In a press release, the agency said the presence of water vapor was confirmed using the observatory’s near-infrared spectrograph instrument.

The findings indicate that water ice from the early solar system, which formed about 4.5 billion years ago, may be preserved in the region.

However, unlike other comets, scientists have stated that comet 238P/Read does not contain carbon dioxide.

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“Our water-drenched world, teeming with life and unique in the universe, to our knowledge, is something of a mystery — we’re not sure how all that water got here,” Stephanie Milam, Associate Scientist for Planetary Science at the Webb Project. and co-author of the study reporting the discovery, published in the journal Nature, the statement explains.

“Understanding the history of the distribution of water in the solar system will help us understand other planetary systems and see if they might be on their way to creating an Earth-like planet,” she said.

A comet is an object that is found in the main asteroid belt and periodically displays a halo and tail like a comet.

These main belt comets are a fairly new classification, and Comet Reed was one of three comets used to establish this category.

Prior to this classification, comets were known to be outside the orbit of Neptune, where ice could persist further from our Sun.

This graphical representation of the spectral data highlights key similarities and differences between the 2022 observations of Comet 238P/Read by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Spectrograph and those of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 by NASA’s Deep Impact mission in 2010. show a distinct peak in the region of the spectrum associated with water. (NASA, ESA, CSA and J. Olmsted (STScI))

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The frozen material that evaporates as comets approach the sun is what distinguishes them from asteroids, giving them their characteristic halo and tail.

Scientists have previously speculated that water ice might persist in the warmer asteroid belt – inside the orbit of Jupiter – but NASA said the evidence has so far been elusive.

This image of Comet 238P/Read was taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Near Infrared Camera on September 8, 2022. The dusty coma and tail are the result of the evaporation of ice as the sun heats the main body of the comet. (NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Kelley/University of Maryland | Image Processing: H. Hsieh/Planetary Science Institute), A. Pagan (STScI)

“Thanks to Webb’s observations of Comet Reed, we can now demonstrate that water ice from the early solar system can persist in the asteroid belt,” said University of Maryland astronomer Michael Kelly, lead author of the study.

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The lack of carbon dioxide, which typically makes up about 10% of the volatiles in a comet, has two possible explanations presented by the researchers.

“Being in the asteroid belt for long periods of time can do this – carbon dioxide evaporates more easily than water ice and can seep out over billions of years,” Kelly suggested, also suggesting that Comet Reed could have formed in a particularly warm part of the planet. A solar system where there was no carbon dioxide.