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Nature 447, 535-536 (31 May 2007) | doi:10.1038/447535a; Published online 30 May 2007

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Astrophysics: Water worlds in the making

Roy van Boekel1

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Meticulous observations of the disk of gas and dust around one young star seem to imply icy, comet-like bodies in the disk's inner regions. Could these be the building-blocks of water-rich planets like Earth?

The disks of dust and gas around newborn stars provide a natural laboratory for studying the formation of planetary systems. But even the nearest young stars are so far away that conventional telescopes lack the sharpness of vision to see into the very centre of the disk, where habitable planets such as Earth could form.

  1. Roy van Boekel is at the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
    Email: boekel@mpia-hd.mpg.de

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