A Meteorite From Alaska May Hold the Truth About Where Earth’s Water Came From
The Daily Galaxy • • science
Key Points:
- Scientists at the University of Oxford analyzed the rare enstatite chondrite meteorite LAR 12252 from Alaska, discovering substantial native hydrogen in its matrix, suggesting Earth may have formed water internally rather than relying on asteroid impacts.
- The meteorite’s composition closely matches that of early Earth, providing direct evidence that hydrogen—and thus water—could have been a natural outcome of the planet’s own building materials.
- This finding challenges the long-held theory that Earth's water was delivered by wet asteroids after the planet formed, proposing instead that water formation was an inherent part of Earth's chemical evolution.
- The study highlights the significance of enstatite chondrites as snapshots of early Earth material, prompting a reevaluation of planetary formation
