Scientists who merged two techniques may be able to tell us if and how space rocks brought water to Earth.
It is thought that asteroids and comets from the outer reaches of the solar system may have left water on the planet after impact. A research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology came up with a way to get a glimpse inside a meteorite and determine what it was hiding.
According to a recent study about the technique, it can reveal the presence and distributions of hydrogen-bearing materials in meteorites and help constrain the presence and actions of water in the early solar system.
There are meteorites that fall from asteroids.
The new method is called coordinated neutron and X-ray computed tomography. Similar to how diagnosticCT scans create cross-sections that are reassembled into a 3D image which helps doctors see what is going on inside the body without operating, the X-rays and neutron beams fired at a meteorite fragment in NXCT safely reveal what types of minerals and other elements or compounds Water ice can be found in meteorites.
The NIST researchers wanted to know which form of water it was. Heavy water has hydrogen and oxygen in it that creates regular water. The amount of water in a meteorite can be compared to the amount on Earth.
Heavy elements give themselves away by scattering X-rays while the lighter elements bounce off trapped hydrogen in a meteorite. Evidence of water can be seen in 3D images, which can show how it got there.
There were two meteorites tested for this experiment. There is achondrite embedded with other minerals. The hydrogen indicates the presence of water. The material from a different type of asteroid that carried more water through space was found in EET 87508.
There is a paper in the journal that describes the research.
We encourage you to follow us on social media:
All Rights Reserved © 2024
