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Article says:
"Observations with the PACS and SPIRE spectrometers have shown that water vapour is being formed deep down near the surface of the star; a place where it was previously thought to be impossible."
”The new Herschel observations have shown that the water is being formed much closer to the star itself, at temperatures approaching 1000oC."
So, I wouldn't have thought the soot would provide much protection if the water is forming closer to the star than the soot.
Their explanation seems to be the gaps in the soot cloud allows external UV to stimulate the formation of the H2O.
So, if the H2O is close to the star, I would've thought it would be getting pummelled by star radiation, plasma bursts, ion flows, etc.
I guess it all depends on how close the H2O is to the star (and they seem to have left that bit out in the explanation .... and I can't find any original paper).
Frustrating.
Cheers
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