The origin of water on Earth is something most rarely think about. Water is so necessary to maintain life on Earth, and now a study by scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has shown that water molecules existing now are the same in volume as they were after the Big Bang was thought to have created the Universe.
Scientists have taken steps into the adventure of discovering the origin of water on Earth: Now, they believe think that there was water vapor in some areas of space just a billion years after the Big Bang. The same as now. This was determined by measuring the chemistry of molecular clouds that have 1,000 times less oxygen than the Sun, and the test found that it still had as much water vapor as there is found in our own solar system.
The Origin of Water on Earth Caused by Oxygen in Stars
It is a known fact that there could not have been any water directly after the Big Bang occurred since there were no oxygen molecules at that point. A water molecule is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. The way a water molecule happens is that after a star formed during the Big Bang, these stars generated substances like oxygen and hydrogen. These same substances are what is needed to make water.
By testing the molecule clouds in the study, scientists discovered that if a temperature of only 80 degrees Fahrenheit was reached, that water could be made during the gas phase of the cloud even if there were relatively little raw materials available. Even so, the origin of water on Earth–or at least the first water molecules–must have begun with a fight for their existence to continue.
Water Molecules Had to Stabilize
Ultraviolet light that is emitted from a star can break water molecules up, but they become more stable after a few hundred million years. This is what is thought to have occurred after the Big Bang. The first stars after this event are believed to have been short-lived star. When they fell apart, it caused elements like oxygen, helium, and hydrogen to form in pools or islands. Water molecules were then were able to travel together, and form inside these areas first.
Water also was likely to be found at this time in the form of ice, as this exists in great quantities all over the universe. It is thought that some of the ice that existed after the Big Bang may have been incorporated when it and other particles travelled together, thus forming systems of planets, which would then have had water from that event as well. This research on the origin of water on Earth shows that in order for us to have that daily drink of water, it had to first form in the clouds of gases formed by stars. It was then later part of the formation of the planets, and finally formed the lakes, ponds, and oceans that make up our world. Take a moment to thank water for continuing to sustain all life on Earth.
There are so many ways to appreciate water other than pondering/looking into its origins of water on Earth. Maybe paragliding onto a boat is a stretch, but it certainly can be one of them:
https://youtu.be/tCUV-glyLPE
