Scientists recently expressed that space water in the meteorite could hold more clues to discovering the origin of water on Earth and how it arose.
As specified in a BGR report, scientists have detected extraterrestrial water in a meteorite for the first time. The meteorite was found after it crashed into a driveway in the Gloucestershire town of Winchcombe in February this year.
Researchers reported that roughly 12 percent of the specimen was made up of water. As such, it could offer a lot of understanding of the origin of water on this planet.
That is because it is the least poisonous specimen ever collected so far. Such a sample, explained the study investigators, was collected within 12 hours of hitting the Earth. As such, it was not contaminated by materials and water on Earth.
The Origin of Water
The discovery, Sky News reported, is "huge news for scientists," as it means a predominantly uncontaminated appearance of water outside Earth.
Furthermore, since scientists are always trying to discover how the oceans on Earth formed, they look forward to finding some answers.
Frequently, there have been a lot of arguments around the origin of water on this Planet. Asteroids such as Bennu have provided further understanding of how life forms on Earth, although finding water's true origin has always been tough.
Moreover, a lot of arguments have centered around comets or water asteroids being the main sources of the first water to form on Earth.
Comets and Meteorites
Whereas this specific sample does not give an exact answer, it indeed offers new insight into the concentration amounts of water that may have moved around the surface of meteorites.
Additionally, since the composition is quite similar to water on Earth, some researchers claim that comets and meteorites possibly played a vital role in the origin of water on this planet.
Discovering extraterrestrial water on this meteorite is a big deal. Nevertheless, it is not enough to blow the lid off the whole thing.
Hopefully, future specimens can offer further understanding, and scientists can identify the origin of water on Earth.
Earlier Report on the Discovery of Water in Meteorite
While the new finding reveals the water space in a meteorite as a first-time discovery, in 2021, Space.com reported that scientists spotted "water in a primitive meteorite," expanding the insight into the ancient solar system.
Essentially, water is abundant in the solar system. From Saturn's icy rings to the subsurface water on its moon Enceladus and the liquid water and ice found on Mars, water is known to exist outside Earth.
Nevertheless, while scientists have suspected that water is preserved in a meteorite type called "carbonaceous chondrites," they have never found liquid water in such rocks until at present.
In the said research, the study authors found tiny pockets of carbon dioxide-rich liquid water in a meteorite that hails from the ancient solar system.
Lastly, this particular work expands the insight into how planets evolved in the solar system, as this kind of meteorite could have contributed to water on Earth a long time ago.
Related information about the discovery of water in a meteorite is shown on Unleash wow's YouTube video below:
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