Webb Telescope Detects “Dirty Snowballs” Orbiting Sun-Like Star 155 Light-Years Away

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a distant planetary system for the first time, SciTech Daily reported.

The discovery was made in the dusty debris disk surrounding the Sun-like star HD 181327, located 155 light-years away. This finding resolves a decades-old question about the existence of solid water beyond our solar system.

Using Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), researchers detected “dirty snowballs” — icy particles mixed with dust — scattered throughout the debris disk. The majority of the water ice was found in the cold, outer regions farthest from the star, with decreasing amounts closer in, where ultraviolet light likely vaporizes the ice.

HD 181327 is a young star, about 23 million years old, and its debris disk resembles the Kuiper Belt in our solar system. The discovery highlights the crucial role of water ice in planet formation and suggests icy materials may be delivered to rocky planets by comets.

Published in the journal Nature, this breakthrough opens new avenues for studying how water and planetary systems develop across the galaxy.