V883 Orionis Archives

Spectrally integrated line flux maps for 3I/ATLAS observed using JWST NIRSpec: (a) H2O at 2.7 µm, (b) CO2 at 4.3 µm, (c) CO at 4.7 µm. Image axes are aligned with the equatorial (RA/decl.) grid. Molecular emission has been isolated by subtracting a polynomial fit to the adjacent continuum. Spatial coordinates are with respect to the brightest pixel in each map (the pseudo-nucleus). Inset panels (upper right) show the continuum-subtracted spectra within the image integration wavelength range, spatially integrated within a 3′′ diameter circular aperture centered on the pseudo-nucleus (corresponding to 3,900 km at the 1.8 au distance of the comet from the telescope). Lower left corner shows the direction of the (sky-projected) comet-Sun (S) and nucleus velocity (v) vectors. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Isotopic Evidence For A Cold And Distant Origin Of The Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingMarch 17, 2026March 17, 2026

Interstellar objects provide the only directly observable samples of icy planetesimals formed around other stars, and can therefore provide insight into the diversity of physical and chemical conditions occurring during […]

Disk temperature, vapor condensation timescale (tcond) and number density of water (nH2O) during the outburst dimming phase of the best-fit model. Here t' = t − tbeg is the time lapse since the bolometric luminosity started to decline. The value of Lbol corresponding to this time is labeled. In the top row, the range of 140-150 K is shaded in white to highlight the snowline region. At t' = 121 yr – the present epoch – the emission surfaces (τmm = 2/3) of ALMA band 5, 6 and 7 and disk photosphere (see Sect. C) are plotted along with the temperature contour. In the middle row, the region where no condensation occurs is plotted in white. In the bottom row, two lines denoting ice(vapor)-to-gas ratio of 10−3 are indicated to highlight the snowline region. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Dust And Water In V883 Ori: Relics Of A Retreating Snowline

by Keith CowingNovember 5, 2025November 5, 2025

V883 Ori is an FU-Orionis-type outburst system characterized by a shoulder at 50-70 au in its ALMA band 6 and 7 intensity profiles.

Channel maps of the D2O emission compared to that of HDO. The grey line indicates the emission above 3σ attributed to the HDO line at 225 GHz. The white contours indicate the 3 and 4σ level for the emission of D2O and the neighbouring COMs. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Pristine Ices In A Planet-forming Disk Revealed By Heavy Water

by Keith CowingOctober 27, 2025October 27, 2025

Water is essential to our understanding of the planet-formation process and habitability on Earth.

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of heavy water molecules (H2O, HDO, and D2O) as they have been observed in giant molecular clouds, a planet forming-disk, and comets—before they eventually may have made their way to Earth. Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/P. Vosteen, B. Saxton

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

First-ever Detection Of Heavy Water In A Planet-forming Disk

by Keith CowingOctober 15, 2025October 15, 2025

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have made a first-ever detection of doubly deuterated water (D2O, or “heavy water”) in a planet-forming disk around V883 Ori, a young […]

The top and lower left panels show the integrated intensity map and the intensity-weighted velocity for EG. The top and lower right panels show the same for GN. We only included that data above 0.005 Jy beam−1 in the moment maps. Gray contours in the intensity-weighted velocity maps represent 1, 3, 5, and 7σ, where σ = 0.005 Jy; beam−1 ; channel−1 , integrated over 10 channels. The beam size is shown in the lower left of each panel. The moment 0 maps for EG and GN were generated by summing the following transitions (EG: 350.70, 351.02, 351.30, and 351.81 GHz; GN: 348.19 and 362.22 GHz). The moment 1 maps were generated by averaging the same transitions used for moment 0 maps. The HNC detection at 362.63 GHz is shown for comparison. -- astro-ph.SR

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

A Deep Search For Ethylene Glycol And Glycolonitrile In The V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk

by Keith CowingSeptember 11, 2025September 11, 2025

Ethylene glycol ((CH2OH)2, hereafter EG) and Glycolonitrile (HOCH2CN, hereafter GN) are considered molecular precursors of nucleic acids.

This artist’s impression shows the planet-forming disc around the star V883 Orionis. In the outermost part of the disc, volatile gases are frozen out as ice, which contains complex organic molecules. An outburst of energy from the star heats the inner disc to a temperature that evaporates the ice and releases the complex molecules, enabling astronomers to detect it. The inset image shows the chemical structure of complex organic molecules detected and presumed in the protoplanetary disc (from left to right): propionitrile (ethyl cyanide), glycolonitrile, alanine, glycine, ethylene glycol, and acetonitrile (methyl cyanide). Credit ESO/L. Calçada/T. Müller (MPIA/HdA)

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

The Evolution Of Life May Have Its Origins In Outer Space

by Keith CowingJuly 25, 2025July 25, 2025

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has discovered complex organic molecules – including […]

Identified COMs towards the disk of V883 Ori. The horizontal dotted line in gray represents the noise level in the data (1σ), the black line represents the data, and different colors represent the best fit of the model of different species. --astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

A Deep Search For Complex Organic Molecules Toward The Protoplanetary Disk Of V883 Ori

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2025September 18, 2025

Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) in the form of prebiotic molecules are potentially building blocks of life.

Dust temperature in our models turning on and off the viscous heating. The blue line is an isothermal contour at T = 115 K in the model with viscous heating added and the cyan the same isothermal contour in the model without viscous heating. We use 115 K as the temperature at which Cieza et al. (2016) locate the spectral index shift in V883 Ori. Left: Image with viscous heating. Right: Image without viscous heating. We observe in the images that when we add viscous heating the snowlines get shifted by almost 20 au. -- astro-ph.SR

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report

Viscous Heating As The Dominant Heat Source Inside The Water Snowline Of V883 Ori

by Keith CowingDecember 27, 2023December 27, 2023

FU Orionis-type objects(FUors) are embedded protostars that undergo episodes of high accretion, potentially indicating a widespread but poorly understood phase in the formation of low-mass stars.

The 3.3 mm dust continuum image (left top) and the velocity-integrated intensity maps of the molecular line emission (others) in the V883 Ori disk. The velocity range for integration are ±3.5 km s−1 with respect to the source systemic velocity vsys = 4.25 km s−1 (Tobin et al. 2023) including CH3OCH3 and CH3COCH3, where multiple blended transitions are integrated together. The molecular species, transitions, and upper state energy levels are indicated in the upper-left corner of each panel. The black contours start from 5σ with steps of 2.5σ, where σ are the noise level of each map measured on the emission-free region, spanning σ = 1.8–4.4 mJy beam−1 km s−1 depending on the maps. The synthesized beam and a scale bar of 80 au are shown in the lower left and right corner of each panel, respectively. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Chemistry Of Complex Organic Molecules In The V883 Ori Disk Revealed By ALMA Band 3 Observations

by Keith CowingDecember 4, 2023December 4, 2023

Complex organic molecules (COMs) in protoplanetary disks are key to understanding the origin of volatiles in comets in our solar system, yet the chemistry of COMs in protoplanetary disks remains […]

Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Learning More About The Source Of The Water In Our Solar System

by Keith CowingMarch 10, 2023March 10, 2023

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have detected gaseous water in the planet-forming disc around the star V883 Orionis. This water carries a chemical signature that explains the […]

V883 Orionis

Isotopic Evidence For A Cold And Distant Origin Of The Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

Dust And Water In V883 Ori: Relics Of A Retreating Snowline

Pristine Ices In A Planet-forming Disk Revealed By Heavy Water

First-ever Detection Of Heavy Water In A Planet-forming Disk

A Deep Search For Ethylene Glycol And Glycolonitrile In The V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk

The Evolution Of Life May Have Its Origins In Outer Space

A Deep Search For Complex Organic Molecules Toward The Protoplanetary Disk Of V883 Ori

Viscous Heating As The Dominant Heat Source Inside The Water Snowline Of V883 Ori

Chemistry Of Complex Organic Molecules In The V883 Ori Disk Revealed By ALMA Band 3 Observations

Learning More About The Source Of The Water In Our Solar System

Dinosaur-killing Asteroid Also Created A Dust Cloud That Insulated Earth, Charbroiling Cretaceous Creatures

Current Water Trapping Micro-habitats On The Surface Of Mars

Methanotrophy Under Extreme Alkalinity In A Serpentinizing System

ANDES, The High-resolution Spectrograph Oof The ELT: Simulated Performance Of The CORO Module And Overview Of The High-contrast Capabilities For Exoplanet Observations

When Polymers Meet Primitive Membranes: How Molecular Cooperation May Have Helped Life Begin