Did you know that Earth is the only planet in the solar system where water exists in liquid form? Us neither… but have you ever wondered why? Us neither, but it appears that some scientists have! Thank goodness for scientists.
New findings are showing that the water on Earth could have come from a comet-collision millions of years ago. Using the ultra-super-mega-powerful Herschel space telescope, scientists have been observing a comet called Hartley 2. Apparently, Hartley 2 contains a rare type of hydrogen that matches the hydrogen in the Earth’s oceans!
These same scientists believe that for a long time, the earth was rocky and dry for many years, and then just had water one day. The water didn’t grow, someone brought it in. Their belief is that the water in our oceans may have been brought by asteroids and comets that have crashed into Earth.
Sure, these findings have nothing to do with the fact that Earth is the only planet that has water in liquid form, but at least we’re getting closer to knowing where our water came from! And now we know where to search if we ever run out of it…