Rocky planets could harbour water already at birth

Water is essential for life, at least on Earth. The question of its origin is therefore central to the chance of life on other Earth-like planets. Through observations with the James Webb Space Telescope, we have now found evidence for a mechanism that supplies potentially habitable planets with water during their formation. The JWST/MIRI data indicate a substantial reservoir of water in the central region of a planet-forming disk of gas and dust around the young star PDS 70, where Earth-like planets may be forming.