Astronomy

Clouds of water ice thread stellar nurseries in the Milky Way

The findings support the idea that water pervades the galaxy’s planet-building material

Wispy red and blue clouds form a tie-dye pattern in this false color image of a stellar nursery.

Vast clouds of interstellar water ice (blue in this false color mosaic) reach hundreds of light-years across Cygnus X, a large star-forming region in the Milky Way. This mosaic of images, captured by NASA’s SPHEREx, spans the width of roughly 11 full moons.

JPL-Caltech/NASA, IPAC, J.L. Hora et al/Astrophysical Journal 2026

By Nikk Ogasa

A vast, frozen fog of interstellar ice has been charted across expanses of the Milky Way, poised to supply water to newborn worlds.