It may sound like a silly question,
but it’s actually a fundamentally important one and the answer is unexpected
and fascinating. Water is thought to be one of the essential elements that
indicate the possibility of life. If there is water in space, then it could
lead to the discovery of life beyond our own planet. It also means there could
be a natural source of hydration for intrepid astronauts. As well as finding
out if there is water in space, we’ll specifically look into the presence of
water on Mars and the Moon. We have all the answers, so read on…
In short, yes - there is water in space, much more than you might have guessed.
But where, why and how much? In 2011,
scientists
discovered a massive cloud of water vapour
30 billion miles from us. The
water cloud is thought to contain more than 140 trillion times the amount found
on Earth. Those numbers are quite difficult to get your head around. Suffice to
say there’s a lot of water floating around out there, albeit in gaseous form -
but that still counts.
This ‘new’ water cloud seems to be the largest amount of
water so far discovered in space. But the fact that it’s 12 billion light years
away from Earth means that it’s been there a very long time. So long ago that
it could mean that water has been in space since the universe began. This cloud
is not exactly new.
The huge cloud of water is in a quasar - one of the most
powerful things to exist in the universe. At the centre of this quasar is a
black hole 20 billion times bigger than our sun. This black hole is surrounded
by a cloud of gas and dust. While the black hole feeds off this cloud, scientists
aren’t yet sure if this means that the black hole will simply continue growing,
or whether the cloud will condense to form a new star. The black hole could
also eject the cloud from the quasar and send water into outer space.
Discoveries such as this help us understand more about what happens to water in
space.
Why is there water
space?
A nebula is a huge cloud of gas and dust in space, sometimes
made when a star dies and explodes. Scientists have seen water molecules in the
Helix Nebula and the Orion Nebula. Hydrogen atoms, created in the Big Bang, and
oxygen atoms, created in the cores of stars, combine in the gas clouds of
nebulae to create water (H20 - two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom), in
gaseous form. The Orion Nebula is still forming, growing and creating around 60
times more water than in the Earth’s oceans every single day.
New planetary systems forming around stars are full of water
molecules. Remains of the formation of these planetary systems exist as
asteroids and comets. Chemical markers in the waters of Earth’s oceans reveal
their origins to be from asteroids that have landed here. So the water on our
planet came from space.
Find out where our tap water
comes from
Is there liquid water
or ice in space?
Water ice is found across our solar system - in comets, the
moons and rings around Jupiter and Saturn, and the poles of Mercury and our own
Moon. The poles of Mars contain dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide), while Titan,
one of Saturn’s moons, contains frozen methane. Many comets also contain frozen
methane as well as frozen ammonia. So there’s a lot more ice in space than just
ice made from water.
Mars was once covered in liquid water, much like our own
planet. Scientists believe that Mars may have lost around 87% of the water it
once had, and that its remaining water is mostly trapped underground. Some
water has been seen on hills during the planet’s summer. Some believe that
Venus may have been an ocean planet before it lost all of its water in a
similar way to how Mars lost its water - the lack of a sustained global
magnetic field.
Theories suggest that Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, three
of Jupiter’s moons, may all have oceans beneath their surfaces. As may three of
Saturn’s moons - Titan, Enceladus and Mimas - and Neptune’s moon, Triton. There
are also theories that Pluto may be hiding an ocean of water. Scientists also
believe that frozen and liquid water may exist inside asteroids and comets.
Is there water on the
Moon?
In 2020, NASA found water molecules on the Moon, despite it being so dry. The
fact that water was found in sunlit areas of the Moon, means that it’s probably
widespread across its surface. While ice in the Moon’s permanently shadowed
poles was discovered in the 1990s, the recent discovery of the actual H20
molecule is leading scientists to theorise that micrometeorites containing
water may have landed on the moon and deposited it there. The sun’s solar winds
may have blown hydrogen to the Moon, whereupon it reacted with oxygen in
minerals. Forthcoming missions to the Moon hope to discover more about the presence
of water on the moon and how it came to be there.
A treatise on love and water
in the modern age
Saving our own
planet’s water
While the Earth has a predominance of water, it’s extremely
precious. Although 71% of our planet’s surface is covered by water, only 3% of
all the water on Earth is freshwater, meaning that it’s drinkable. And more
than two-thirds of that freshwater is contained in ice caps and glaciers.
We should all be conserving drinking water, especially when
safe drinking water is not equally available to all. We can all do our own bit
by only pouring the water we need. Small things like not leaving the tap
running longer than necessary will all help. According to the Energy Savings
Trust, 75% of people admit
to using too much water every time they boil a kettle. Installing a
home water system could help
you save water by dispensing only the exact amount of hot or cold water you
need.
Read our 30 tips on how to save water at home <https://virginpure.com/the-purist/easy-ways-to-save-water-at-home/>
