Estimating where all the water on Earth comes from is a long-standing puzzle. An international team of scientists, led by the University of Glasgow, speculates that the Sun may be the main source of the formation of our planet's H₂O, through hydrogen from the Sun's wind.
Earth is a true alien planet in the Solar System. Unlike all other small rocky planets, the Earth's surface is covered by a vast ocean of liquid water. The question is, where does this water come from?
There are a number of theories about the origin of water on Earth. But there is one that is more popular. This popular theory says that water comes to Earth shortly after its formation in the form of type-C meteorites or carbon meteorites, which differ from standard meteorites in that they contain the hydrogen and oxygen needed to make water.
Quoted from the New Atlas, this is a hypothesis that fits what we know about such meteorites. However, this theory is questionable because the ratio of hydrogen isotopes in carbon meteorites does not match that found in terrestrial water. So, what is the alternative theory?
"The existing theory is that water was brought to Earth in the final stages of its formation on type C asteroids, but previous testing of these asteroid isotope 'fingerprints' found that they, on average, did not match the water found on Earth. another source that has not been found, "said Professor Phil Bland of the University of Curtin, one of the Glasgow team.
"Our research shows that the Sun's wind creates water on the surface of small dust particles, and this lighter isotope water is likely to provide residual water on Earth. This new solar wind theory is based on careful atom-by-atom analysis of very small fragments. from an S -type (rocky) near -Earth asteroid known as Itokawa, the samples were collected by the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa and returned to Earth in 2010, "he explained.
Mentioned Bland, the world -class atomic probe tomography system at Curtin University allows them to look in detail into the first 50 nanometers of the surface of Itokawa dust grains. In the dust grains, found enough water content that if enlarged, will amount to about 20 liters for every cubic meter of rock.
Bland added that the same technique could be used in future space missions. This study suggests that the same space weathering process that created water on Itokawa is likely to occur on other steamy planets. That is, astronauts may be able to process a supply of fresh water directly from dust on the surface of other objects, such as the Moon.
