A recent study by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center suggests that comets may have played a significant role in delivering water to early Earth. Led by Kathleen Mandt, the research focused on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and found its water composition closely resembles that of Earth’s oceans.
The study challenges earlier conclusions that comets’ water was incompatible with Earth’s due to high levels of deuterium, a heavy hydrogen isotope. Mandt’s team reanalyzed over 16,000 water measurements from the ESA’s Rosetta mission, discovering that dust from Comet 67P’s surface affected deuterium readings.
The study highlights the importance of accounting for dust effects in cometary analysis and offers new insights into the formation processes of the solar system. If confirmed by future studies, the link between comets and terrestrial water could reshape theories about how life-sustaining resources were delivered to Earth.
According to Mandt, updated methodologies are needed to analyze cometary water and prepare for future missions. Understanding the relationship between comets and Earth’s water could provide answers about the origins of life on our planet.
Source: https://www.businesstoday.in/visualstories/news/delivered-by-a-comet-scientists-suggest-that-earths-water-came-from-beyond-our-solar-system-191987-05-12-2024