Icy Exocomets Around a Distant Star Help Explain Earth's Water
Researchers are studying the PDS 70 star system to understand the origins of water in planetary systems. By analyzing exocomets and gaseous water reservoirs, scientists hope to determine if Earth's water was delivered by celestial bodies or formed during the planet's early development.
Why it matters
Understanding the source of water on Earth provides critical insights into the conditions necessary for life to emerge on other planets.
Earth's surface water puts the planet into its own, privileged category among the Solar System's bodies. Nowhere else is it found, and this water allowed life to appear and fluorish. Nobody argues that, but what's still up for debate is the source of this water.
Did this water arise from hydrogen off-gassing from Earth's molten body when it was a young planet? Or was it delivered by watery asteroids and icy planetesimals and comets? Or did both mechanisms contribute?
New research in Nature Communications tackles the problem of Earth's water by looking at a distant solar system. It's titled " Potential sublimating exocomets around the young star PDS 70, " and the lead author is Aline Novais. Novais is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Physiscs at Lund University in Sweden.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in