SAN FRANCISCO, iNews.id – Five billion years ago the universe did not have Earth. The universe remains like that until a certain number of asteroid collided and condensed into a giant stone ball.
But, the incident raises the question, the Earth’s surface is 70 percent water, so where does the liquid come from? The old theory is that a class of water-rich asteroids, called carbonaceous or C-type asteroids, could have visited Earth during its creation and carried water.
However, there are caveats and C-type asteroids may only be half the story. The water composition of the asteroids is slightly different from that found in H20 on Earth, as quoted from Cnet.
The composition of water consists of a lot of deuterium, which is a heavier version of hydrogen. However, if all the water on Earth came from asteroids, the composition should be similar.
An international group of scientists may have solved the puzzle. What is a cosmic object with a lot of hydrogen but not so much deuterium? The answer is the sun.
Editor: Dini Listiyani
