Water in Space: The Water World of ISO

José Cernicharo (1) , Jacques Crovisier (2, 3, 4)

1 DAMIR/CSIC - Department of Molecular and Infrared Astrophysics, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
2 LERMA - Laboratoire d'Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique
3 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
4 Pôle Planétologie du LESIA

In this review we present the main results obtained by the ISO satellite on the abundance and spatial distribution of water vapor in the direction of molecular clouds, evolved stars, galaxies, and in the bodies of our Solar System. We also discuss the modeling of H₂O and the difficulties found in the interpretation of the data, the need of collisional rates and the perspectives that future high angular and high spectral resolution observations of H₂O with the Herschel Space Observatory will open.

Domaines: Astrophysique [astro-ph]

José Cernicharo, Jacques Crovisier. Water in Space: The Water World of ISO. Space Science Reviews, 2005, 119, pp.29-69. ⟨10.1007/s11214-005-8058-x⟩. ⟨hal-03732797⟩