Jenn Peone
No one has ever been able to determine conclusively how the water on earth got here.Scientists know that the early Earth was far too hot to hold water or water vapor, but then, in relatively short geological time, the oceans appeared. Now, researchers are saying that a new discovery has shed some light on the age old question. A european team reprted finding a very colld reservoir of water vapor in space that could explain earth’s water.
The region they discovered surrounds a star 175 light years away. The star is in the early stages of forming a planet or planets. Similar to how earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists concude that the water on earth was almost certainly brought to erth by comets and asteroids known to originate in these cold but water filled zones. It is assumed that these were present when earth was forming. The observations scientists have made indicates that enough water exists in the disk of cold vapor to fill earhs oceans.
It has long been suspected that these “reservoirs” of cold water vapor existed but until now we have not found any signs of them in hotter regions closer to the sun. The theory seemed unlikely because cold asteroids and comets are formed in the outer reaches. But now we have evidence to make the theory stronger.
Also, it is likely that water has been delivered to some of the billion other planets to exist beyond our solar system, meaning there might be many other “ocean worlds” throught the galaxies.
The 10 million year old star is the closest planet forming star yet identified. Efforts to find the cold water vapor in the past all failed because the instruments were not powerful enough.around 4.1 billion years ago began a period of “heavy bombardment,” when Earth was pummeled by comets and cold meteorites — both of which carry water — from the outer reaches of its disk. some researchers hold that the water came primarily from other sources. For instance, water is believed to have been released from early volcanos that belched up molten material from deep within the planet, including H2O. Water could also leak out of certain minerals in rocks as the planet cooled.
This discovery can relate to many of the things we talk about in class. First, it can be related to the missoula flood and water on mars in terms of finding sources of water and proving an outrageous hypothesis. This story has to do with the entire earth and the way it work. How it was formed and how it can be affected in the future. Without the oceans and water on earth, there would be no life; we would not be here.
It is important to understand the way the earth was formed to understand the way it works and how it is affected by the rest of the universe. The story is definitely intriguing and I am not surprised that it has many people questioning the hypothesis. However, good points are made and no other legitimate explanations have been made to challenge the idea.
What is also another interesting topic mentioned is the discovery of the forming planet, or possible planet. Never before have we seen one so close. These observations will help us to understand our own planet due to the similarities of the formation that has taken place so far.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/clue-to-how-our-oceans-were-filled/2011/10/20/gIQAmBRs0L_story.html?wprss=
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