How Water Forms in Interstellar Space at 10K

KentuckyFC writes "Water is the most abundant solid material in space. But although astronomers see it on planets, moons, in comets and in interstellar clouds, nobody has been able to show how it forms. In theory, it should form easily when oxygen and atomic hydrogen meet. The problem is that there is not enough of it floating around as gas in interstellar dust clouds. So instead, the thinking is that water must form when atomic hydrogen interacts with frozen solid oxygen on the surface of dust grains in these clouds. Now Japanese astronomers have demonstrated this process for the first time in the lab in conditions that simulate interstellar space. That's cool because all the water in the solar system, including almost every drop you drink on Earth today, must have formed in exactly this way more than 5 billion years ago in a pre-solar dustcloud (abstract)."

Comments

NOT EVERY DROP !!!

[Taco Cowboy]

Not every single drop of the water we use today is formed that way. There are lots of other ways water is formed.

For example: Volcanic activity

Whenever there's some volcanic activity, you see steam coming up. Those are "NEW" water, as Hydrogen streaming out of the earth crust, it mixes with Oxygen in the air, and walla ... H2O !

I bet the Kilauea volcano in Hawai'i has given us quite a number of drops of H2O over the years. :)

Finally!

[jav1231]

I'm so glad that's settled.

I was thinking the other day, how am I supposed to just go through life without knowing how water is formed in space?