NASA has made it official - the James Webb Space Telescope has detected water outside of Earth

[Bayard]

NASA has made it official – the James Webb Space Telescope has detected water outside of Earth – This historic discovery changes everything we thought we knew about life in the universe

It’s not Mars, it’s not a distant moon, and it’s definitely not some grainy UFO footage from a grainier basement YouTube channel. This time, NASA has confirmed something huge: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected water ice far beyond our Solar System —orbiting a completely different star. And no, it’s not just a hopeful whisper of humidity. We’re talking actual crystalline water ice, detected in the outer reaches of a star system where new planets are forming. In other words, Earth may not be nearly as special as we thought.

Before you imagine an astronaut scooping ice into a cooler, let’s clarify: nobody physically touched it. The JWST, which orbits the sun almost a million miles from Earth, used its infrared vision to spy on a young star system called PDS 70, located about 370 light-years away. Scientists studied how light from the star interacted with a giant, dusty ring around it. What they found was the unmistakable chemical signature of crystalline water ice. Not vapor. Not guesses. Solid, structured, frozen water. Water vapor, on the other hand, is more common. It has in fact been detected on exoplanets. We’ve found ice in the shadowy corners of the Moon, on Mars, and even on Mercury. But this? This is different. This is the first time scientists have seen this kind of water ice, in such large amounts, in a place where planets are actively forming. It’s not just sitting there for show—it could be part of the building blocks for future Earth-like worlds.

This discovery doesn’t prove life exists beyond Earth (yet). But it raises the chances. If water —the key to all known life— is showing up in young solar systems this easily, then life might not be the rare cosmic miracle we once believed. It also backs up the idea that Earth’s water may have been delivered by icy comets or asteroids early in our planet’s history. If that’s how it worked here, it could be working the same way out there—over and over again.

Think of JWST as Hubble’s cooler, infrared-wielding cousin. It launched in 2021 with a mission to see what other telescopes couldn’t—and it’s been delivering jaw-dropping results ever since. Its specialty is detecting infrared light, which is perfect for picking up heat signatures and chemical fingerprints in deep space. That’s what makes it possible to detect things like carbon dioxide on distant planets… or water ice orbiting stars hundreds of light-years away. While Hubble was taking gorgeous space portraits, JWST is doing hard science at a molecular level, revealing the ingredients of alien worlds before they’re even fully formed.

Let’s be real: water ice in deep space may not sound like big news at first glance. But it absolutely is. This discovery means that the conditions for life aren’t just here—they’re probably everywhere. It opens the door to a future where planets with water (and maybe life) are commonplace, not cosmic flukes. It also reshapes how we search for habitable planets. Instead of looking for Earth 2.0 with beach-ready atmospheres, we can now start looking for ice delivery systems—places that might one day be dripping with oceans. This isn’t just a cool data point on a space chart. It’s a paradigm shift. For centuries, we’ve looked up at the stars wondering if we’re alone. This discovery doesn’t answer that—but it tilts the scale. If water can exist out there in structured, planet-building regions of the galaxy, then life might just be another natural outcome of cosmic chemistry. And thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, we’re finally starting to see the bigger picture. So next time someone says “there’s nothing out there,” just smile and say: “Not even close.”


No more at link:
https://eladelantado.com/news/james-webb-detects-water-outside-earth/

[Duppers]

1. It does indeed tilt the scales.

Last edited Thu May 22, 2025, 07:09 AM - Edit history (1)

And indeed, there may be intelligent life.

(I have thoughts & jokes I must not post. )

[AZ8theist]

2. We've known about water in space for decades.

This is not some "new" discovery.
This feels like click-baity histrionics.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Had The Same Reaction

Helium/Carbon fusion to form oxygen is scientific fact & there is plenty of non-stellar hydrogen to react with the oxygen.
It's a cool confirmation but I'm surprised at the way it's presented.