SCIENCE UPDATE
New discoveries and updates from the ever-fascinating world of science.
Astronomers have searched for Earth-like planets in our galaxy for decades. But in order for a planet to be able to include life, plenty of liquid water is required. And scientists used to think that water could arrive at planets only from comets and icy asteroids.
Ground-breaking research from Denmark’s University of Copenhagen is changing that. It shows that water is highly likely to be present in the interstellar incubator from which planets form. Using computer models, the scientists have calculated how fast planets were made, and from which building blocks they formed. Their studies demonstrate that Earth formed from tiny water and carbon particles coming together, and grew quickly during the initial period. Dust-sized particles became ice and carbon pebbles, collecting into ever larger lumps, until Earth reached its present size after some five million years. Temperatures rose in the process, and a lot of water was lost again. Earth may be covered in oceans, but water makes up only 0.1% of the planet's mass.
The new model of planetary formation could mean that there is significantly more water in our galaxy – and in the universe – than has been believed previously. The computer model indicates that all planets receive about the same quantity of water when they form, and since that potentially improves conditions for life to develop, it also improves the chances of finding life among the stars. Scientists are looking forward to using the next generation of space telescopes to observe atmospheres of planets outside our Solar System, to learn whether water is as common as they now predict.