SimEarth was right about one thing . The best mode to wet up a major planet ? Hurl a bunch of icy asteroid at it .
That , at least , is one interpretation of anew studypublished in the Royal Astronomical Society , which supports the hypothesis that most of our planet ’s body of water crash - land via blank space rock-and-roll eon ago . And the same process could be making waterworlds all over the galax .
“ It is believed that the Earth was initially wry , but our research powerfully supports the persuasion that the ocean we have today were make as a result of impacts by water - fertile comet or asteroid , ” said lead sketch source Roberto Raddi of the University of Warwick in astatement .
That illation about the cosmic origin of Earth ’s ocean comes from an improbable germ — a white dwarf star , the bite - out essence of a star like our Sun . In their subject , the astronomers detect large amount of hydrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere of a blank dwarf call SDSS J1242 + 5226 . While most blank dwarfs naturally contain H , this particular wiz is one of a small percentage whose atmosphere combusted in a “ shell flash ” that should have burn up all of its hydrogen , leave only helium behind . The discovery of H and atomic number 8 together in a star which should n’t contain either is strong evidence that a water - rich exo - asteroid hurl itself into the star trunk and was decimate .
“ Our analysis shows that this asteroid had a heavy content of water system , either in the form of ice , or hydrate metals , and that this asteroid was corresponding in size to , if not orotund than , Ceres , the biggest asteroid in the solar system of rules , ” study co - generator Boris Gänsicke told me in an email . ( If melt , scientists believeCeres may contain more unused water than is present on our full planet . )
“ This shows that in other world systems there seems to be no shortage of water carrier that could deliver ocean to other ground - alike planets , ” Gänsicke said .
That ’s awful news , because , although our reach are n’t yet powerful enough to directly follow water on the surface of planets outside our solar system , we ’re really hoping other water system - rich world are out there . While a massive shock would scourge life on Earth today , there ’s no intellect icy asteroid are n’t aid to kickstart life all over the galaxy .
Read the full scientific paperhere .
AstrobiologyAstronomydiscoveriesScienceSpace
Daily Newsletter
Get the good tech , science , and culture newsworthiness in your inbox day by day .
News from the hereafter , fork up to your present .
You May Also Like
