The sun, solar winds and itokawa are depicted. Credit: Curtin University
The Sun is thought to be a surprising source of the Earth's water.
A University of Glasgow-led international team of researchers found the solar wind, comprised of charged particles from the Sun largely made of hydrogen ion, created water on the surface of dust grains carried on asteroids.
Phil Bland, Director of the SSTC, said that the Earth was very water-rich compared to other rocky planets in the Solar System, with oceans covering more than 70 percent of its surface.
There is a theory that water was carried to Earth in the final stages of its formation on C-type asteroids, however previous testing of the isotopic 'fingerprint' of these asteroids found they, on average, didn't match with the water found on Earth.
Our research shows that the solar wind created water on the surface of tiny dust grains and that it provided the rest of the Earth's water.
The new solar wind theory is based on the analysis of tiny fragments of an S type asteroid that were collected by the Japanese space probe Hayabusa and returned to Earth in 2010.
We were able to take an incredibly detailed look inside the first 50 micrometres of the surface of Itokawa dust grains, which we found contained enough water that, if scaled up, would amount to about 20 liters.
The research could help future space missions, as well as giving scientists a remarkable insight into the past source of Earth's water.
One of the barriers to future space exploration is how astronauts would get enough water.
The same space weathering process that created water on Itokawa may be the same one that created water on other airless planets, meaning astronauts may be able to process fresh supplies of water straight from the dust on a planet's surface, such as the Moon.
The paper was published in Nature Astronomy.
Solar wind contributions to Earth's oceans is more information. www.nature.com/articles/s41550-021-01487-w
Nature Astronomy journal has information.
The study suggests that the Sun may be an unaccounted source of the Earth's water.
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