Where did Earth's water come from? Scientists say it wasn't melted meteorites
CTV
A new study has ruled out the leading possibility for how water ended up on Earth, a question that still has scientists stumped.
Water makes up about 71 per cent of the Earth's surface, but how it came to the planet continues to stump scientists after a new study ruled the leading possibility out.
Scientists are nevertheless one step closer to understanding how water ended up on Earth, according to a study published in the journal “Nature” on March 15.
Previous studies suggested melted meteorites "floating around" in space since the formation of the solar system four and a half billion years ago could be a reason.
But new research says these meteorites had an "extremely low water content". In fact, they were one of driest extraterrestrial materials ever measured, the study says.
"These results, which let researchers rule them out as the primary source of Earth’s water, could have important implications for the search for water—and life—on other planets," the study reads.
A team of researchers led by the University of Maryland, analyzed seven melted, stony meteorites that crashed into Earth billions of years ago. The team was able to pull fragments that showed these meteorites were pieces of planetesimals, which are objects that collided to form the planets in our solar system.
When planetesimals were heated up by radioactive elements in the early history of the solar system, more pieces separated.
