Water Discovered on Second Asteroid, May Be Even More Common

"This discovery suggests that this region of our solar system contains more water ice than anticipated," said University of Central Florida Professor Humberto Campins. "And it supports the theory that asteroids may have hit Earth and brought our planet its water and the building blocks for life to form and evolve here."

Water Discovered on Second Asteroid, May Be Even More Common

Interesting to say the least. Lots and lots of water out there in the solar system. And with water comes the possibility of life. Funny, I remember not all that long ago that scienctists were rather dubious about the possibility of water existing in any significant concentration anywhere.outside of earth. Now it seems to be turning up everywhere they look.

Originally posted by rogerstigers

"This discovery suggests that this region of our solar system contains more water ice than anticipated," said University of Central Florida Professor Humberto Campins. "And it supports the theory that asteroids may have hit Earth and brought our planet its water and the building blocks for life to form and evolve here."

Water Discovered on Second Asteroid, May Be Even More Common

Interesting to say the least. Lots and lots of water out there in the solar system. And with water comes the possibility of life. Funny, I remember not all that long ago that scienctists were rather dubious about the possibility of water existing in any significant concentration anywhere.outside of earth. Now it seems to be turning up everywhere they look.

Wow, I know Dr. Campins, he was my astronomy club's sponsor in my senior year (junior year too, I think). Way to go Dr. Campins!

reply to post by ngchunter


Wow. Very cool. It might be worthwhile, assuming the subject interests you, to do an interview with him about it and share it with us.

reply to post by rogerstigers

Water is found just about everywhere.
So far the only place the liquid kind has been found is on Earth.

Originally posted by rogerstigers
reply to post by ngchunter

 

Wow. Very cool. It might be worthwhile, assuming the subject interests you, to do an interview with him about it and share it with us.

I'd love to, but he's not always available at the observatory and I'm no longer a student there. Another professor seems to be in charge of the observatory currently, but I'll try to head out there next wednesday during their next open house and see if he happens to be there. If nothing else I'll pass on a word of congratulations.

reply to post by Phage


In understand that very well these days. My comment was more about the science when I was a kid. I remember the consensus being that water was rare. Now it is just liquid water that is rare.

reply to post by rogerstigers


They didn't find water ice, they found the spectrum of water molecules being reflected from the asteroids surface.

Upon closer inspection, should they bother to send a probe there, they will find no evidence of water ice on the surface of the asteroid.

What they will find is a weak cometary discharge emitting the same type of plasma coma as a comet, only in a much weaker fashion.

The water in the spectrum has nothing to do with water being in the asteroid and everything to do with well understood plasma discharge effects that astrophysicists continue to ignore.

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by rogerstigers

 

Water is found just about everywhere.
So far the only place the liquid kind has been found is on Earth.

Yeah. Well, tell that to the scientists that have proposed that the voids of Phobos are water-ice-filled. I know, they didn't want to go there, but they had few other choices except to conclude that the voids were hollow. So, OK, if you want, the voids are empty (except for funiture.

(Didn't they recently find water molecues under a probe's footpad or some such thing on Mars?)

reply to post by Aliensun

Yes.
I said water has been found just about everywhere.
I said liquid water has only been found on Earth.