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QuoteStardust sounds magical enough as it is, but now scientists have for the first time observed that it contains water—which, in turn, could suggest that life is universal.
The water forms within dust grains when they're bombarded with charged winds from the sun. The chemical reaction set up by the winds was hypothesized by scientists in the past, but this is the first time anyone's actually found H2O trapped inside real stardust.
The finding saw John Bradley, from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, take a very close look indeed at the outer layers of interplanetary dust particles that were found in the Earth's stratosphere. Incredibly high-resolution microscopy revealed tiny pockets of water in the already-tiny specks of dust—each of which themselves measured less than 25-micrometres, half the width of a human hair. New Scientist explains how the water forms:
The dust is mostly made of silicates, which contains oxygen. As it travels through space, it encounters the solar wind. This stream of charged particles including high-energy hydrogen ions is ejected from the sun's atmosphere. When the two collide, hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water.
Roll the new finding together with the fact that there are plenty of organic compounds in interplanetary dust, and the suggestion is, as New Scientist points out, that stardust contains all the basic ingredients needed for life like that on our planet. Because it's believed that similar stardust grains exists in solar systems throughout the universe, the finding bodes well for the existence of life elsewhere. In other words, we're almost certainly not alone.
How cool is this? Science discovers what could be a very significant element in the creation of life, and could well indicate that life can form across the universe. This is positively profound.
I've always been a firm believer in the existence of alien life, so any discovery like this is delightful to me
Quote from: "GrinningYMIR"I've always been a firm believer in the existence of alien life,
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Holy cow, and depending upon when life started elsewhere, the chances are pretty good I would think, that there are both more, and less evolved species in other universes. I wonder if some of them believe in god(s)? Every new finding such as this presents so many more questions than it has answers. It really is true that the more you learn about the universe, the less you know. What a special find.
Stuff like this makes me wish Carl Sagan's space ship of the imagination was real so I could fly around and look at it all. GOD DAMMIT, I WAS BORN TOO EARLY! :evil:
Yeah, makes me hope I can stick around long enough to see the answers to some of the questions and discoveries that are unfolding now. Like understanding dark matter and discovering life on other planets.
Gawd put it there.
Quote from: "Atheon"Gawd put it there.
My thoughts exactly.