There is Water in Stardust. We May Not Be Alone in The Universe
Jan 22, 2014 19:50
Scientists, have for the first time observed that stardust contains water. Which in turn could suggest that there is life elsewhere in the universe.
The water forms within dust grains when they are charged from winds from the sun. The chemical reaction set up confirmed that there's H2O trapped inside real stardust.
John Bradley from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California took a close look at the outer layers of interplanetary dust particles found in Earth's stratosphere and they revealed tiny pockets of water in the tiny specks of dust. They measured less than 25 micrometers, which is half the width of a human hair.
The dust is mostly made of silicates, which contains oxygen. As it travels through space, it encounters the solar wind. This stream of charged particles including high-energy hydrogen ions is ejected from the sun's atmosphere. When the two collide, hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water.
I suppose this means we're not alone.[PNAS via New Scientist Image by GSFC]
