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Astrophysics

Unexpected warm water

Nature volume 467, pages 35–36 (2010)Cite this article

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The detection of water vapour in a carbon star has challenged the understanding of ageing stars. The discovery that such water can be warm shows that our knowledge of these objects is still rudimentary.

In the short time since its launch on 14 May 2009, the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory has delivered several astronomical discoveries in the infrared and submillimetre regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. On page 64 of this issue, Decin et al.1 report yet another of Herschel's exciting findings: the detection of warm water vapour in the circumstellar envelope of the carbon star IRC +10216.

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  1. Bengt Gustafsson is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 515, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden. bg@astro.uu.se,

    Bengt Gustafsson

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  1. Bengt Gustafsson
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Gustafsson, B. Unexpected warm water. Nature 467, 35–36 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/467035a

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