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Earth's Water Didn't Come From Outer Space

sciencehabit writes "Where did Earth's oceans come from? Astronomers have long contended that icy comets and asteroids delivered the water for them during an epoch of heavy bombardment that ended about 3.9 billion years ago. But a new study suggests that Earth supplied its own water, leaching it from the rocks that formed the planet. The finding may help explain why life on Earth appeared so early, and it may indicate that other rocky worlds are also awash in vast seas."

181 comments

  1. Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Isn't the earth in outer space?

    1. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 4, Informative

      Um ... By definition, no.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    2. Re:Um... by kstahmer · · Score: 1

      Isn't the earth in outer space?

      You have an interesting point. By definition, outer space is: "any location outside the Earth's atmosphere." So Earth and its atmosphere aren't part of outer space, yet they do reside in outer space.

      --
      HRH The Duke of Windsor
    3. Re:Um... by beh · · Score: 1

      Quite a geocentric view of creation, you're taking...

    4. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      No, it's more like I'm taking a Merriam-Webster-centric view of the definition of outer space.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    5. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where is it then?

    6. Re:Um... by Chapter80 · · Score: 1

      Isn't the earth in outer space?

      The definition of outer space is

      the void that exists beyond any celestial body including the Earth.[1] It is not completely empty (i.e. a perfect vacuum), but contains a low density of particles, predominantly hydrogen plasma, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos. Theoretically, it also contains dark matter and dark energy.

      So no, the Earth isn't in outer space. But neither is water. It's a void.

      The headline "Earth's Water Didn't Come From Outer Space" should get a resounding "duh!" from the Slashdot crowd.

    7. Re:Um... by HermMunster · · Score: 1

      The rocks that formed the Earth certainly were from outer space.

      The Earth's upper atmosphere is bombarded with water every second. This is a known fact, so I don't know where these scientists are coming from. It's not likely, IMHO, that these scientists are even remotely close, because we have a lot of water here on Earth.

      --
      You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
    8. Re:Um... by Haeleth · · Score: 1

      Most people who use the word "creation" have a pretty geocentric view, in my experience.

      Unless you are one of the handful of true believers who realises that the universe was created billions of years ago by Xgarg, the space-lobster god of Fralxi, for the sole benefit of the sentient inhabitants of a planet in another galaxy whose name cannot be represented in our pathetic human alphabet.

    9. Re:Um... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      Yes - but if you have a tap inside your house hooked up to a water supply also inside. You pour a cup of water from the sink - you wouldn't really say "I got this from outside" when you are inside your house. Technically, yes, your house is within the realm of outside, but people would be under the impression you left your house to acquire water.

      Same thing here with inner space versus outer space - did the water from from within?

    10. Re:Um... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      from from. Come from... I need my coffee this morning. No more posting for me till I get some.

    11. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So no, the Earth isn't in outer space. But neither is water. It's a void.

      Of course the earth is in outer space. It doesn't have to be outer space to be in outer space. Oceans are large bodies of salt water, but you can be in the ocean without being salt water. Your Xbox360 came in a cardboard box, even though the definition of 'cardboard box' would explicitly exclude the Xbox360 from being part of it.

      If you're surrounded by the void, then you're in the void. The earth is in outer space.

      Then again maybe I should get a resounding "whoosh!"

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    12. Re:Um... by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      The only way that could possibly be true is if you don't consider the atmosphere to be part of Earth. Which would be dumb.

      Well, either that or you're working off some definition that you pulled out of your ass.

    13. Re:Um... by Chapter80 · · Score: 1

      Seems like this might be fun to debate, just for the heck of it....

      Without citing references, I'll state that Outer Space was first named and defined in an Earth-centric fashion. Go far enough away from the Earth, and you get to Outer Space. It's that area past the Troposphere, past the Stratosphere, past the Mesosphere, past the Thermosphere, past the Exosphere. As Wikipedia says, "These are the boundaries between the earth's surface and outer space."

      By definition, outer space is the area between planets and other celestial objects. Planets are no more 'in outer space" as outer space is "in planets".

      By your analogy, Maui could be considered "in the ocean". But it's not. It's an island. When you are on the island, you are surrounded by the ocean, but you aren't in the ocean. By definition, the ocean excludes land, and you are out of the ocean when you step on land. If I pointed to Maui on a giant globe, and asked 100 educated people "if you are standing here, are you in the ocean", at least 99 would say "no". [citation needed] You are on land.

      Same goes for the atoms that comprise my Xbox360. If I asked 100 scientists whether those atoms are in cardboard, most would probably say no. They're in the Xbox.

      Not expecting a response, or a "ok you're right' or a "na you're wrong". I just figured it'd be fun to practice pretzel logic.

    14. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      By definition, outer space is the area between planets and other celestial objects.

      By your analogy, Maui could be considered "in the ocean". By definition, the ocean excludes land,

      You're still confusing "in" with "is".

      Maui is in the Pacific Ocean. That is 100% correct.

      The reason people don't say you're in the ocean when you are standing on the island is because, while in some sense it is true, it's not the most relevant context. You are not directly surrounded by the ocean, you're surrounded by something else that is surrounded by the ocean. The island is directly surrounded by ocean, and thus is in the ocean. When you're on a boat in the ocean, most people say you're on a boat in the ocean, not that you're in the ocean.

      By definition, the ocean excludes everything that isn't water or dissolved in water. Fish aren't the ocean, by definition. You aren't the ocean. A boat isn't the ocean. Yet they can all be in the ocean.

      Same goes for the atoms that comprise my Xbox360. If I asked 100 scientists whether those atoms are in cardboard, most would probably say no. They're in the Xbox.

      They would say the atoms are in the xbox, and the xbox is in the cardboard box. Despite, by definition, not being a cardboard box.

      The earth is in space just as surely as you're in the earth's atmosphere. More so. More than an island is in the ocean, or a boat is in the ocean. Earth is literally surrounded by the void and is in it as surely as a fish is in the ocean.

      Not expecting a response, or a "ok you're right' or a "na you're wrong". I just figured it'd be fun to practice pretzel logic.

      I don't think you need any practice at misusing pedantry, but do as you will. I more interested in clearing up legitimate misunderstandings of language, which is why I responded in case you're really thinking it's proper to equate "in" with "is".

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    15. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      You are confusing the word "in" with the phrase "surrounded by". Outer Space is all of the space which the Earth and it's atmosphere are not in, by definition. This isn't open for debate. It has to do with understanding the English language, and the definition of "Outer Space".

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    16. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Just read the post from Chapter80 and learn something.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    17. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Without the Earth there is no Outer Space. Before the Earth there was no Outer Space. You are confusing "Outer Space" with the Universe. Outer Space = The Universe - The Earth and it's atmosphere. Holy shit, I can't believe people are having trouble understanding this simple concept, even on Slashdot.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    18. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      You are confusing the word "in" with the phrase "surrounded by". Outer Space is all of the space which the Earth and it's atmosphere are not in, by definition. This isn't open for debate. It has to do with understanding the English language, and the definition of "Outer Space".

      You're right, there is no debate which is why you'll find many places discussing earth in space.

      It's why WP says on the Outer Space page that "Outer space (often simply called space) is the void that exists beyond any celestial body", and on the Celestial Body page says "Astronomical objects are naturally occurring physical entities, associations or structures that current science has demonstrated to exist in outer space."

      So the problem is in fact with understanding the English language, as in you not understanding the difference between "is" and "in".

      Look at your post -- your only argument that earth is not in space is that earth isn't space. Which is as ridiculous as saying that the USS George Washington isn't in the ocean because it isn't the ocean.

      But it is in the ocean, and the earth is in space. Despite not being space. Really, read the definitions yourself and then get over it.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    19. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      I did, and all I learned is that multiple slashdotters don't understand that "is" and "in" aren't the same.

      And that the same source that they rely on to verify that the earth isn't space also confirms that the earth is in space, but are happier leaping to their illogical conclusions based on ill-informed pedantry.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    20. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are misplacing the blame. The scientists are being perfectly reasonable if you read the abstract. They say nothing about the epoch of heavy bombardment which traditional theories of planetary formation attribute a large portion of our water to. Basically this paper describes how oceans should have formed before that epoch, and there is no denial that more water came later. Scientists generally understand that things are complex. Real scientists wouldn't be comfortable saying which collision was the final one of the period of accretion and which marks the first bombardment of the young Earth. They'd be more likely to say "Well, in some sense the Earth is still gaining mass due to impact from cosmic debris. However, evidence indicates that there was a period in which the rate of bombardment slowed enough that I feel justified in labeling a shift between the Hadean and Archaean eons about 3.8 billion years ago. While the shift may seem geologically instantaneous, in actuality it took several hundred million years: a length of time that is so enormous that most people, myself included, have large difficulty in grasping. However, we now have new evidence and theory which states that there may have been ocean formation earlier than we previously had reason to believe. We are looking in to the consequences of this line of thinking and seeing how well it fits within theory. I am excited to see if my colleagues can devise an experiment which would lend evidence to one side or another of the argument. Unless more evidence is presented, I withhold judgment regarding the issue of how much of the current supply of surface water is composed of water from the early accretionary period and how much is from the later heavy bombardment and even how much has come from more recent impacts. The topic is far more complex and less conducive to investigation than would first appear, because the amount of water lost to space during various eras is unknown. Additionally water is continuously being exchanged through geological processes such as subduction and vulcanism. The topic is even further complicated by the fact that individual molecules of water are separated and recombined through various chemical and biological processes which almost serve to render the question moot."

      The sensationalism comes about through "scientific" journalism. And at least the Science Magazine article linked raised the question of whether or not the water stuck around, and if it boiled off in to space or if some of the water is sticking around. It's the stupid Slashdot "editorial" fanaticism to black and white thinking that leads to headlines that basically read "Durr Hurr, since there were oceans early on, then water didn't come later on. Mommy says I shouldn't take my helmet off because I is clumsy and don't have too many brains to spare. Anything that Microsoft does is because they are the evil and greedy, so Linux is going to be the future." On the other hand, my earlier rendering of the scientific explanation of the topic would bore most people. They would be literally unable to pay attention through the whole explanation, and even if they remembered everything that is said would likely not have the background or expertise to extract any meaningful facts.

    21. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1
      You got it wrong at every turn. By definition, the term Outer Space, a term in the English language, refers to all the space in the universe that is not the Earth and it's atmosphere. Outer Space = The Universe - The Earth and it's atmosphere.

      "Look at your post -- your only argument that earth is not in space is that earth isn't space. Which is as ridiculous as saying that the USS George Washington isn't in the ocean because it isn't the ocean."

      No. What I am saying is that by definition the Earth and it's atmosphere are in the Universe, which is made up of space in Outer Space plus space occupied by Inner Space, to wit the Earth and It's Atmosphere. Now off you go to explain to the residents of Hawaii that they sleep in the Ocean.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    22. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I did, and all I learned is that multiple slashdotters don't understand that "is" and "in" aren't the same.

      And that the same source that they rely on to verify that the earth isn't space also confirms that the earth is in space, but are happier leaping to their illogical conclusions based on ill-informed pedantry.

      There's a huge difference between "space" and "outer space". But way to try to slip that one past people.

      "Chris_Burke in an ass." Does that mean Chris_Burke is an ass?

    23. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      No. What you learned is nothing, because you haven't figured out basic math yet, or the definition of Outer Space. You also haven't figured out that if you subtract a geometric region from a larger geometric region, you don't get more area as a result.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    24. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      You got it wrong at every turn. By definition, the term Outer Space, a term in the English language, refers to all the space in the universe that is not the Earth and it's atmosphere. Outer Space = The Universe - The Earth and it's atmosphere.

      Wow. Once again you state the uncontested claim that the Earth isn't Outer Space, and then without even acknowledging it you equate "is" with "in", so "isn't" means "not in", expecting the completely unsupported conclusion to be obvious.

      Yet by definition the earth is an astronomical body, which by definition is a physical entity in outer space.

      No. What I am saying is that by definition the Earth and it's atmosphere are in the Universe, which is made up of space in Outer Space plus space occupied by Inner Space, to wit the Earth and It's Atmosphere.

      Wait, are you seriously defining the Earth to not include its atmosphere? Is that the unspecified and completely wrong leap of illogic you're taking? While there are contexts where you would use "earth" as distinct from the "air", that is certainly not the context when discussing Earth the planet!

      Atmospheres are parts of their planets. Seriously, what dictionary are you reading where you thought otherwise? I'm guessing none. Do you really think it's wrong to say that you have seen Jupiter and Venus in the night sky?

      Now off you go to explain to the residents of Hawaii that they sleep in the Ocean.

      Go to explain to anyone who understands English that Hawaii isn't in the Pacific Ocean.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    25. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you're surrounded by the void, then you're in the void. The earth is in outer space.

      A man digs a hole in the dirt, with his shovel. His shovel moves 4.5 tons of dirt. If dirt weighs 30 lbs per cubic foot, how many cubic feet of dirt are in the hole?

    26. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      No. What you learned is nothing, because you haven't figured out basic math yet, or the definition of Outer Space.

      Lol, I think you need to brush up on the definition of outer space yourself, and the definition of the terms used in that definition. You have to know the meaning of multiple words to actually understand what's going on here.

      You also haven't figured out that if you subtract a geometric region from a larger geometric region, you don't get more area as a result.

      How foolish. The area of the doughnut is increased when you subtract the doughnut hole. This is quite a common result in fact.

      Not that the "in" relationship requires it to go one way or the other.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    27. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just look down.

    28. Re:Um... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      I just realized that we are both right. I live on the planet Earth, but clearly you live in Outer Space.

      Plonk

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    29. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      So... is that your way of avoiding clicking on the link and realizing that you're wrong, by definition? Or is it that you've already had to admit it to yourself, so now you're mad at me?

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    30. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 0, Redundant

      So... is that your way of avoiding clicking on the link and realizing that you're wrong, by definition? Or is it that you've already had to admit it to yourself, so now you're mad at me?

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    31. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      You can ignore me and ignore the links that prove you wrong all you want, they won't go away. Which you know, which is why you're mad. But maybe once the hurt has passed, you'll realize you've learned something in spite of yourself.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    32. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      Wow, how did that end up a triple post? Me fail.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    33. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      There's a huge difference between "space" and "outer space". But way to try to slip that one past people.

      Outer space is often simply referred to as "space", and that's the context I'm using it in. Not to mean "space-time" or anything else, so I'm not trying to bamboozle anyone.

      Regardless, the earth is in outer space.

      "Chris_Burke in an ass." Does that mean Chris_Burke is an ass?

      Of course not. Which is exactly the distinction being made. Glad you understand it.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    34. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You failed many posts ago; all of them actually.

    35. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      Yes, because I thought people being that stupidly pedantic would want to actually read something contrary to their stupidity. A big mistake I admit.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    36. Re:Um... by aquila.solo · · Score: 1

      "I've got the whole world
      in my pants!
      I've got the whole wide world
      in my pants!..."

    37. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The area of a donut is reduced by the area of the donut hole. You are thinking of the surface area.

    38. Re:Um... by Chapter80 · · Score: 1

      If you're surrounded by the void, then you're in the void. The earth is in outer space.

      A man digs a hole in the dirt, with his shovel. His shovel moves 4.5 tons of dirt. If dirt weighs 30 lbs per cubic foot, how many cubic feet of dirt are in the hole?

      No dirt is in the hole.
      No earth is in the void.

    39. Re:Um... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      The "area" of a three dimensional donut doesn't make any sense to me unless you're talking about surface area. Or I guess cross-sectional area, but that'd be an even weirder thing to call "area" with no qualification since it depends what cross section you're taking what happens.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  2. it would be too nice to be true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If this is true, then most earth sized rock planets in the habitable zone are also having water by default. Whoa, this simplifies the drake equation.

    1. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Requiem18th · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This makes The Habitable Zone into The Really Very Habitable More Like Life Sprouting Zone.

      --
      But... the future refused to change.
    2. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Urkki · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This makes The Habitable Zone into The Really Very Habitable More Like Life Sprouting Zone.

      Not really.

      For example, it may be that what was once much thicker crust, and is now Moon, would have contained the water, and there would be only dry surface, slowly seeping water vapour into the atmosphere, where it would be promptly broken down by Sun and hydrogen escaping.

      We really have no idea, no big picture. We have just one sample, and even though we're literally standing on it, we don't even know how things went that fourish billion years ago.

    3. Re:it would be too nice to be true by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      The way it was formed is pretty unique

      I take it you have some evidence that it was "pretty unique", as opposed to "fairly common"? If our solar system is any guide, it happens to 1/4 of all rocky planets....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    4. Re:it would be too nice to be true by a_hanso · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Agreed.

      a) Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe
      b) Oxygen is also highly abundant: plenty of it is created in stars (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesis)
      c) Oxygen happens to be highly reactive
      d) Given their abundance, we can be sure that most planets will have the two elements, even if only as components of minerals

      Now all you need is some sufficiently energetic process (thermal?) to release the two and react, and you've got an ocean (if the temperature is right)

    5. Re:it would be too nice to be true by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      None of the other non-gas giants has a moon anywhere near as big as our satellite. Asimov explored this in Foundation and Earth, where the Earth was fairly unique in the galaxy.

      Also, tidal forces probably played a part in the development of life. I think it's more likely that if we find extraterrestrial life, we'll find it on the satellite of a gas giant, not in a rocky small planet.

      The Forgosts think that too (of course, I made them up ;)

    6. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      None of the other non-gas giants has a moon anywhere near as big as our satellite.

      Says who? We've only very recently gotten the ability to tell if there's a terrestrial planet circling a distant star; we certainly can't tell anything about their satellites yet.

    7. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still 1/4.

    8. Re:it would be too nice to be true by SirThe · · Score: 1

      None of the other non-gas giants has a moon anywhere near as big as our satellite.

      Says who?

    9. Re:it would be too nice to be true by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Name one.

    10. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Philomage · · Score: 1

      Life (as in life on Earth) may be dependant upon having both a sizeable moon to stabilise the planet and large gas giants to vaccuum up the errant chunks of rock and ice floating around the system.

      As important as water is (and it's beginning to look more and more prevalent), I think that for life to exist is more dependant upon things like a large moon and a Jupiter-like aegis -- that makes it less likely that life exists elsewhere. (Sadly)

    11. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Philomage · · Score: 1

      Pluto.

      (You didn't ask for a planet, only a "non-gas giant".)

    12. Re:it would be too nice to be true by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      None of the other non-gas giants has a moon anywhere near as big as our satellite. Asimov explored this in Foundation and Earth, where the Earth was fairly unique in the galaxy.

      So, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. One has a large moon. Which is pretty close to 1/4 of them.

      Thar only 1/4 of our four samples has a large moon in no way implies that that one sample is "fairly unique in the galaxy".

      Also, tidal forces probably played a part in the development of life. I think it's more likely that if we find extraterrestrial life, we'll find it on the satellite of a gas giant, not in a rocky small planet.

      Pure conjecture based on no data at all. Yet. I wouldn't be surprised if you were guessing correctly here, but then I wouldn't be terribly surprised if we first found life in a gas giant's atmosphere, either.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    13. Re:it would be too nice to be true by SirThe · · Score: 1

      I can't name one because no one really knows whether or not other rocky planets contain moons of the approximate that Earth's is to it.

    14. Re:it would be too nice to be true by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      That would be why, AFAIK, water is the most common compound in the universe. From what I understand, Hydrogen and Oxygen are the two lowest elements on the periodic table which can react with each other. I tried to confirm that just now, but failed - I'd appreciate some confirmation from someone with a better grasp of chemistry :)

    15. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Carbon is lower than oxygen and combines with hydrogen quite well. Methane is probably your most common hydrocarbon, though whether it it is more common than water... no clue.

    16. Re:it would be too nice to be true by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      Hrm. Good point. I was thinking that hydrocarbons generally require more atoms in order to form a single molecule. But then I realized that methane is a single carbon atom with 4 hydrogen atoms, so I guess we should have an abundance of methane, at least.

      Interesting. Guess I'll have to do a lot more reading. Thanks!

    17. Re:it would be too nice to be true by tirefire · · Score: 1

      Whoa, this simplifies the drake equation.

      While I am as excited as you are at the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, I must point out that the drake equation is and will always be meaningless. I'm going to quote Michael Crichton and T.J. Nelson here because I couldn't say it any better myself:

      The Drake equation consists of a large number of probabilities multiplied together. Since each factor is guaranteed to be somewhere between 0 and 1, the result is also guaranteed to be a reasonable-looking number between 0 and 1. Unfortunately, all the probabilities are completely unknown, making the result worse than useless. -T.J. Nelson

      The problem, of course, is that none of the terms can be known, and most cannot even be estimated. The only way to work the equation is to fill in with guesses. [...] As a result, the Drake equation can have any value from "billions and billions" to zero. An expression that can mean anything means nothing. Speaking precisely, the Drake equation is literally meaningless... -Michael Crichton

    18. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Maritz · · Score: 1

      You could have at least added the reply to these criticisms found just after on the same wikipedia page... ;)

      One reply to such criticisms is that even though the Drake equation currently involves speculation about unmeasured parameters, it was not meant to be science, but intended as a way to stimulate dialog on these topics. Then the focus becomes how to proceed experimentally. Indeed, Drake originally formulated the equation merely as an agenda for discussion at the Green Bank conference.

      Personally I agree with the criticism of the Drake equation but I think it's an interesting thought experiment, and it's interesting to discuss and speculate on what parameters might be of greatest importance. Fermi's paradox is surely one of the major mysteries here - if there's one thing we can be fairly sure of, it's that there is some factor that makes our detection of intelligence difficult, whether that be a tendency of civilisations to destroy themselves or whether intelligent life is statistically unlikely to occur in the first place.

      From our own solitary data point in Earth we can at least surmise that occasionally, intelligent life can take hundreds of millions of years to arrive even after fairly complex life is common.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    19. Re:it would be too nice to be true by tirefire · · Score: 1
      Thanks for including the text from the Wiki article that I missed.

      ...it was not meant to be science, but intended as a way to stimulate dialog on these topics.

      Here's my problem with the Drake equation: It's not scientific, but it's presented as if it were. It's written out as a mathematical formula despite containing no testable hypothesis. The wikipedia page you quoted says Drake only meant for the equation to be used as a starting point for discussion. Okay, no problem there, but then why did Drake feel the need to present it in the same manner as Newton's second law? Doing so puts the Drake eq on the same level as something the scientific community is rightfully very angry about: "Intelligent Design". The Drake eq and "Intelligent Design" both place unscientific thought within a scientific context. The scientific community reliably pans every variant of "Intelligent Design" as a dangerous idea that threatens to make the scientific process subordinate to religious thought. But for some reason the Drake eq gets a free pass from almost everyone, even though I first heard about it in a high school science class (and isn't that the exact environment scientists try to keep removed from "Intelligent Design"?) The more people we have who are able to distinguish between science and pseudoscience, the better off we are. The Drake equation sets us all back a little bit every time it's introduced without also being ridiculed.

      Personally I agree with the criticism of the Drake equation but I think it's an interesting thought experiment, and it's interesting to discuss and speculate on what parameters might be of greatest importance.

      (emphasis mine)
      I'll agree with that any day; thinking about unknown alien life (or "unknown anything", really) in most any way is fun, and it's great at getting kids interested in physics and astronomy.

      From our own solitary data point in Earth we can at least surmise that occasionally, intelligent life can take hundreds of millions of years to arrive even after fairly complex life is common.

      The Oxford American Dictionary defines "surmise" as "suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it." With words like "surmise", I'm afraid we're back to "Intelligent Design" again. And just like with "Intelligent Design", the problem with the Drake eq is not the idea itself, but rather that the idea has escaped from its proper, useful place in the Philosophy Department and is now running amok through the Science Department.

    20. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and where did the rocks that made up the earth come from?

    21. Re:it would be too nice to be true by Jappus · · Score: 1

      None of the other non-gas giants has a moon anywhere near as big as our satellite. Asimov explored this in Foundation and Earth, where the Earth was fairly unique in the galaxy.

      Also, tidal forces probably played a part in the development of life. I think it's more likely that if we find extraterrestrial life, we'll find it on the satellite of a gas giant, not in a rocky small planet.

      The Forgosts think that too (of course, I made them up ;)

      I think you missed the point of the OP. Everything you described above is true for Earth, but not for Mercury, Venus and Mars.

      In other words: It is true for 1/4 of the rocky planets in our solar system, and if you hold that our solar system will more likely be the average case, instead of an uncommon case[1], you can extrapolate that the above conditions will hold for ~25% of rocky planets in the universe.

      Of course, that's vastly oversimplifying things, but still, the OP's point of "If our solar system is any guide, it happens to 1/4 of all rocky planets...." is a valid statement ... it might prove out to be false, of course, but it is valid.

      [1] - That is, if you assume a normal distribution for the properties of solar systems in the Universe, there are bound to be more "nearly average" solar systems, than outliers. Thus, it's more likely that we live on an average solar system.

  3. Even so by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, astronomers can say what they will, but I still swear by a couple of ice meteors to end a dry spell.

  4. Dude... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...everything is from outer space. In fact we are flying through outer space right now.

    1. Re:Dude... by Chrisq · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...everything is from outer space. In fact we are flying through outer space right now.

      Sound like you are flying high in your own personal inner space

  5. Re:So... there is a God? by Loki_666 · · Score: 1

    *sighs* No... read the article.

  6. well, let's wait for thursday... by neongrau · · Score: 1

    when they're prolly going to announce that a water-ice meteorite had been discovered, that also brought extraterrestrial life with it.

    NASA press release

  7. Not Invented Here - NOT by G3ckoG33k · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not Invented Here - NOT

    This news goes in hand with the parsimonious explanation that the Earth is the endogenous source of life, too.

    I habitually distrust news that relate any process on Earth as influenced by Venus, Mars, or 'Outer Space'. Remember what a fool they made out of Bill Clinton with the 'bacteria from Mars'...

    Invented Here - YES!

    1. Re:Not Invented Here - NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did someone actually disprove that theory, by finding one that fits the observed facts better? I don't recall anyone proving that the sample was indeed contaminated - just some guys coming out and saying "oh btw, microbacteria also exist in Earth rock and they leave similar fossils behind so it is more probable that the sample was contaminated".

  8. Re:So... there is a God? by martin-boundary · · Score: 1

    The water appeared out of nowhere?

    Keep up, will you? The water, which is the lifeblood of living things, came out of stones.

    All this proves is that there was a poltergeist.

  9. Why not? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I thought everything came from asteroids - water, life, death of dinosaurs, scapegoat when can't think of another theory, Elvis... those asteroids are magical things you know...

    1. Re:Why not? by Sechr+Nibw · · Score: 3, Funny

      Jeez, you forgot to mention Superman! What kind of a nerd are you?

  10. Re:So... there is a God? by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

    Yes. In the beginning there was the water and the waer was God. And the water said: "Let there be me." And then it was.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  11. It is just way more complicated actually by Framboise · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The water we drink must have been reprocessed many times for eons by living beings.
    Remember that the amount of sedimentary rocks made of dead stuff is much larger than
    the total of oceans. This implies that striclty speaking each molecule has been dissociated
    and recombined with different oxygen and hydrogen atoms. Many O and H atoms now in
    water have been in other compounds (CO, H2SO4, ...) for a while and vice versa.

    1. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many O and H atoms now in water have been in other compounds (CO, H2SO4, ...) for a while and vice versa.

      Not just that, but the sub-atomic particles in those atoms have probably been part of other atoms as well and have fused or fizzled (fissed? fissioned?) to create the O and H we have now.

      PSA: Don't drink the water, you don't know where its electrons have been!

    2. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, and most importantly, fish drink water (and do other, unspeakable things in it..), and when it re-emerges from the fish,
      it has converted into extremely toxic oxygen dihydride (no-one having accidentally drunk it has survived) !
       

    3. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I knew hydrogen was a slut, I just didn't know it was to this extent. And to think he said he loved me and only me.... now I see he has been seeing Carbon and even sulfur...sulfur for crying out loud!


      Yours sincerely, Oxygen

    4. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by CODiNE · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      HAMLET
      To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may
      not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander,
      till he find it stopping a bung-hole?

      HORATIO
      'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.

      HAMLET
      No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with
      modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it: as
      thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried,
      Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of
      earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he
      was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel?
      Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay,
      Might stop a hole to keep the wind away:
      O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
      Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw!

      --
      Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
    5. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Framboise · · Score: 1

      Chemical reactions are easier on Earth than nuclear reactions because the required threshold energy to start reactions is lower by about 1 million. The residual radioactive elements on Earth can transmute atoms, but their amount is tiny. But you are right, the sub-atomic particles that can be easily exchanged are the outer electrons, so we can expect most atoms on Earth had some promiscuitous exchange with others.

    6. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 1

      This implies that striclty speaking each molecule has been dissociated
      and recombined with different oxygen and hydrogen atoms.

      Actually, liquid water is a constantly changing mixture of H20 molecules, H+ ions and H3O- ions. The hydrogen atoms are continuously shifting between different molecules and ions, in proportions depending on the pH of the sample. No particular group of atoms in liquid water stays together for very long.

    7. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Taibhsear · · Score: 4, Funny

      pfft. Leave it to Oxygen to over react...

    8. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, how long did it take you guys offline to come up with this/ :-)

    9. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      PSA: Don't drink the water, you don't know where its electrons have been!

      Stop stealing slogans from homeopathy!

    10. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His main point was that the "law of conservation of water" that these studies seem to assume isn't true. The reaction you're describing conserves the amount of water, so is irrelevant.

    11. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see what you did there

    12. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 1

      Read the sentence I quoted again.

    13. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So... Every time you take a sip of water, it's like you're making out with every cave man and dinosaur throughout history!

    14. Re:It is just way more complicated actually by CODiNE · · Score: 1

      Offtopic?? I'm replying to a +5 post with a joke in classic literature that discusses the same subject. ie: Everything we have now has been somewhere else before. The one noble king is reduced to being a piece of clay that plugs a hole in the wall or the bowl-movement that just won't pass.

      It's science in a witty Shakespeare quote.

      Offtopic? yeah if you can't READ.

      --
      Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
  12. Re:So... there is a God? by vivian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Keep up, will you? The water, which is the lifeblood of living things, came out of stones.

    I wonder how much this removal of water from the rocks depends on the earth having a hot mantle? If the mantle were cooler, then the water would stay there instead of being cooked out as steam and being able to re-condense else where. This is massively speculative of course - but could part of the reason mars no longer has a liquid ocean be that since the planet has cooled now, all it's water is locked up back in the rocks again? Is the fact that we have a hot interior on our planet the main driving factor that allows us to have a liquid ocean?

  13. wtf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, the rocks that our planet extracted the water from, did not come from outer space? Then where did they come from? Inner space?

  14. Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Remember, the Book of Genesis originated from India not Hebrews.

    Schollars on India have always recited that this planet Earth was not inhabittable until 5k years ago when the water-Planet Lucifer was destroyed and with all the waterand life was delivered onto planet Earth to insulate all the geotherma activity to make it inhabittable.

    It was said in a seminar that without this arrival of Water, this planet-Earth that we live on today is less habitable than Mars. Just consider that the Pacific Ocean is a giant circle of Volcanos constantly erupting, while Mars is just a bi-polarly environment ranging between like -100 F and 200 F. Also of note, this planet-Earth was noticably a much smaller planet than before it expanded: the alleged Tectonic-plate Drift is not proof of sliding plates but that this planet was once a small rock where something entered the center to cause it to expand as well as produce an enzyme deep below the Earth's crust responsible for breaking-down mineral to produce a productive insulating layer of Oil that allows the Core to spin easier: this is the primary theory of Middle-Earth that you will constantly find repeated beyond India and in the druidic areas of Europe that disguss how every phenomena point of this planet are actually the prior North & South poles that constantly switch and change. Consider how Bermuda Triangle and South China Sea have the same phenomena of bending Time and Space around aircraft and sea vessels.

    That's all I can say about this, but point you to better topic as the magnetic pull of Planet-X causing the increased geothermal activity that Corporations are profitting over by compelling competitive countries into manufacturing disabilities that have nothing to do with CO2 levels.

    1. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Errrrr WTF?

      I just googled

      magnetic pull of Planet-X causing the increased geothermal activity

      and it lead me here:

      http://www.mrp3.com/bobf/global_warming.html

      Check out the awful maths and complete lack of actual science.... Can we use the new powers of the US government to take down dangerous sites like this?

    2. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by PseudonymousBraveguy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Whatever drug you are taking, take less. Or much more.

      Also, I can't resist citing my favorite xkcd quote: "While the author's wildly swerving train of thought did at one point flirt with coherence, this brief encounter was more likely a chance event than a result of even rudimentary lucidity"

    3. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      is this one of those Markov chain "science papers"

    4. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by kimvette · · Score: 1
      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    5. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I'd just like to know what the heck it is - and where I can get some.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    6. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by mrawhimskell · · Score: 1

      Remember, the Book of Genesis originated from India not Hebrews...

      Really? I'd like some references if you don't mind. Anyway, first like a sig declared, "In the beginning was nothing, and then nothing exploded", now we get "The water just came from the rocks" like the same rocks in other planets. Don't ever forget that the things that we see are temporal, but it's the unseen that is permanent

    7. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The flood of Noah was the arrival of albino Indians and similar Aryans known as Japhethites to arrive through the Indian trade routes to surround all of Europe and found Germany. This was a call from the druids in Bohemia if I remember correctly, that the area was being invaded by Africans (snakes) and Arabs (toads).

    8. Re:Hindu Historians answered water-Planet Lucifer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it makes you feel any better, there are dabblings of truth in your story, but good luck proving any of it to any scientist.

  15. Wrong by brillow · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Earth's water came from outer-space because earth came from outer-space.

    1. Re:Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're saying we are aliens? Do you have any proof of this?

  16. can't tell by the inhabitants by dltaylor · · Score: 2

    Seems to be that a very high proportion of the "ugly bags of water" (ST:TNG) infesting the surface must have come from "outer space", in the colloquial sense.

  17. Re:So... there is a God? by rmaureira · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    RTFA? You must be new here...

  18. "ugly bags of water" by perpenso · · Score: 1, Informative

    "ugly bags of mostly water" IIRC

    1. Re:"ugly bags of water" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      worst part is, you DO recall correctly.

      now turn off those mining lasers

  19. P(new theory) = 0.5? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Drawing water from stone? This sounds as crazy as the other theory...

    1. Re:P(new theory) = 0.5? by Haeleth · · Score: 1

      Don't be silly. All real scientists know that it is possible to extract water from rock, because it says so in the Bible. You aren't calling Moses a liar, are you?

  20. Re:So... there is a God? by Urkki · · Score: 1

    The water appeared out of nowhere?

    No, most of what makes water by mass (oxygen) came from supernovas that happened 10-5 billion years ago, where it was made from primordial hydrogen and helium. Smaller part by mass (hydrogen) came "directly" from Big Bang. These combined to become water probably in the early stages of solar system formation, mostly. That water was all mixed up with rock and metal forming the "rocky" planets. Most of the water in the mix was probably lost from inner planets (boiled out of the then molten balls of rock). TFA claims that not all was lost, and the part that was not lost was enough to later form the oceans of the Earth.

  21. What about the other planets? by Tasha26 · · Score: 1

    What does this mean for Mars? Would a giant lemon squeezer work over there too? ;)

  22. Also water could react with other rocks by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    Just because its been cooked out of one mineral doesn't mean it won't react at high temp with another. 3500 miles of magma is a lot of rock to cross and not react. Sounds unlikely to me TBH.

  23. Top 3 Most Common Elements are ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Top 3 Most Common Elements are ...
    1-Hydrogen
    2-Helium
    3-Oxygen
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_the_chemical_elements#Abundance_of_elements_in_the_Universe

    Helium is non-reactive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_gas . Put what remains together and what do you get? Water is probably (my opinion) one of the most abundant things in the universe when the temperatures are right.

  24. Re:So... there is a God? by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

    Of course. If the planet was hot and cooled down, then the surface water would sink into the rock and eventually freeze. On Mars, Mercury and the Moon, the water has sunk into the rock long ago. Mars still has liquid water lower down under the surface and a few salty springs. On earth, the hot core keeps it circulating to the surface. On Venus, the planet is so hot, that all the water is in the atmosphere and most has boiled away. On Mercury, the sun boiled all the water off long ago.

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  25. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  26. Re:So... there is a God? by SamSim · · Score: 2, Informative

    A hot mantle isn't something that happens by chance. When a planet forms, it involves large chunks of *stuff* coming and binding together - that is, coming from a dispersed position of high gravitational potential to a compressed position of much lower gravitational potential. All of that GPE has to go somewhere, and most of it went into thermal energy, hence the heat at the Earth's core. Mars is much smaller than Earth = less GPE to liberate = less core heat. Of course the fact that Mars is too small to hold on to a substantial atmosphere also plays a part.

    What I'm saying is that any sufficiently large rocky planet almost by definition has substantial core heat. It's not really much of a coincidence that the Earth has a hot mantle. Probably, any large rocky planet of about the same age as Earth (i.e. orbiting a population I star) has plenty of core heat left.

  27. Volcanoes are known to vent steam by perpenso · · Score: 1

    Just because its been cooked out of one mineral doesn't mean it won't react at high temp with another. 3500 miles of magma is a lot of rock to cross and not react. Sounds unlikely to me TBH.

    Volcanoes are known to vent steam. All this theory would require is that such venting occurs much more frequently than cometary impacts, and/or with greater volumes of water.

    1. Re:Volcanoes are known to vent steam by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · · Score: 1

      Kim Stanley Robinson has massive aquifers on Mars as part of his trilogy of novels set there. Dunno how far reaching such a speculation is, this piece from Oct mentions them at the end as the likely suspect in flooding events: Underground aquifers formed Martian lakes. If KSR is correct obtaining water won't be much of an issue in colonizing Mars ourselves.

  28. Water dissipated with atmosphere? by perpenso · · Score: 1

    ... but could part of the reason mars no longer has a liquid ocean be that since the planet has cooled now, all it's water is locked up back in the rocks again? ...

    Locked up in ice but probably not back into rocks. Also it may have dissipated into space with the portion of the atmosphere that has been lost.

  29. Radiation not size by perpenso · · Score: 1

    I don't think a greater size is sufficient. A greater size just means it will take longer to bleed off that primordial heat. I believe the earth has a radioactive core that is generating heat, we are not just "coasting" on the primordial.

    1. Re:Radiation not size by Truth+is+life · · Score: 1

      Yes, but a larger planet will also (in general) have more radioactive "stuff" in the core areas as well.

  30. Alternate possibility? by ruiner13 · · Score: 1

    Could the water have been formed by hydrogen in the early Earth combusting and forming water (or similar natural means)?

    --

    today is spelling optional day.

    1. Re:Alternate possibility? by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

      Where do you get the oxygen? Most of it in the protoplanetary disk would have already encountered hydrogen (being 75% of the stuff there) and made water.

    2. Re:Alternate possibility? by arisvega · · Score: 1

      Where do you get the oxygen?

      From procaryotic metabolic processes (if you are referring to Earth's atmospheric abundance).

      Most of it in the protoplanetary disk would have already encountered hydrogen (being 75% of the stuff there) and made water.

      It is not that simple- most of the available hydrogen was spent forming Jupiter. Furthermore, water formed (and remaining) in space is not necessarily stable in spacetime; among other possibilities, depending on the proximity of a heat source, it may photodissociate back to its building blocks.

      A protoplanetary disk is an environment that may both encourage and inhibit molecular composition, due to its diversity- tracking compounds in such an environment is far from trivial.

      --
      The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
    3. Re:Alternate possibility? by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

      From procaryotic metabolic processes (if you are referring to Earth's atmospheric abundance).

      Er, no. Photosynthesis doesn't generate the element, it merely moves it around. And how are you going to have any biotic process before you have water in the first place?

      (So no, I wasn't referring to our atmospheric, molecular oxygen. That's unrelated to this topic.)

      It is not that simple- most of the available hydrogen was spent forming Jupiter.

      No, it wasn't. Far more went into the Sun, first of all. Of what was left, Jupiter would only have been able to capture a small fraction of the hydrogen, the stuff within its immediate area. And by the time Jupiter was big enough to capture hydrogen, the oxygen had mostly reacted with the hydrogen. Water ice was (according to the standard model) a major building block of Jupiter's core. The part that formed first, the part that made Jupiter big enough to capture the hydrogen later.

      Also, your theory fails observational tests. Almost all of the moons and other small bodies (ie, comets) in the outer solar system are made of water ice principally.

      Furthermore, water formed (and remaining) in space is not necessarily stable in spacetime; among other possibilities, depending on the proximity of a heat source, it may photodissociate back to its building blocks.

      First of all, your use of "spacetime" doesn't even make sense here. Water everywhere is in spacetime. Did you mean, "in space" and just try to get too sophisticated?

      Water molecules are stable in space, unless they're near a high-energy source, especially a source of UV. If anything, they're probably more stable in space than on the Earth because of the lower chemical reaction rate. (When the main other chemicals you encounter are hydrogen (atomic or molecular) or helium (atomic, of course), there's not a lot of reacting you can do.)

      A protoplanetary disk is an environment that may both encourage and inhibit molecular composition, due to its diversity- tracking compounds in such an environment is far from trivial.

      This sentence, although full of interesting words, makes no sense. In the very least, you're trying to say something simple in an overly complicated way. I'm not quite sure what, though.

    4. Re:Alternate possibility? by arisvega · · Score: 1

      And by the time Jupiter was big enough to capture hydrogen, the oxygen had mostly reacted with the hydrogen.

      How do you know that? Have you been running planetary formation models and studying formation timescales?

      Water ice was (according to the standard model) a major building block of Jupiter's core.

      What 'standard model' is that? There is no complete theory in planetary formation- plus, Jupiter's core is metallic hydrogen, not water.

      Also, your theory fails observational tests. Almost all of the moons and other small bodies (ie, comets) in the outer solar system are made of water ice principally.

      I said 'water formed (and remaining) in space is not necessarily stable in spacetime' - that does not mean it is not abundant. 'Spacetime' here means that there are different conditions locally during the process of accretion, characterized by both time AND spacial coordinates. F.i., the 'iceline' (theoretical surface away enough from the star where the temperature drops enough for water to stop being volatile, hence chucks of ice start floating around) does not hold the same position in space through the timespan of 'time zero' (be that pre-main sequence, or main sequence, or whatever floats your boat) until today. Timescales are important, because accretion is competing with itsself (like, forming a big Jupiter doesn't leave enough material around for other planets, and on the same time the stellar wind keeps on blowing material away from the system). And THAT is what I mean by timespace.

      Water molecules are stable in space, unless they're near a high-energy source, especially a source of UV.

      Look up what 'photodissociation' means, then look up UV luminocity on newly-formed stars. More or less, we are saying the same thing here.

      If anything, they're probably more stable in space than on the Earth because of the lower chemical reaction rate. (When the main other chemicals you encounter are hydrogen (atomic or molecular) or helium (atomic, of course), there's not a lot of reacting you can do.)

      Sais who? Have you been running models on that as well? There is a host of reactions that take place, plenty of organic molecules in dynamical balance even on very very low temperatures. There is also a mechanism of electron exchange between molecules deposited on dust particles floating in space. And dust particles are neither H, nor He. Plenty of metals are around these days, even more so on star-forming regions.

      A protoplanetary disk is an environment that may both encourage and inhibit molecular composition, due to its diversity- tracking compounds in such an environment is far from trivial.

      This sentence, although full of interesting words, makes no sense. In the very least, you're trying to say something simple in an overly complicated way. I'm not quite sure what, though.

      Fair enough, I'll try to popularize; I am trying to say that when some researcher tries to study the structure of a protoplanetary disk, one of the goals is to acquire profiles for temperature, pressure and abundances. This is done because, to some extent, knowing how these parameters scale 'across' the disk (on the direction of 'away-near' the star, and on the direction of 'away-near' the disk's plane) enables said researcher to feed valuable constrains and interaction laws to his to-be-iterated computer model. Then, after running the model, results are compared to the observable universe. The actual planet-making process is not easy to see without cheating a bit, even on new, state-of-the-art computer models that run on supercomputers for months at a time.

      Even more simple: stuff is in dynamic balance; water that forms on some distance from the star, will be destroyed if it drifts too close into the star. The key to an answer on 'how much water after all' is figuring out creation rate vs destruction rate.

      --
      The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
    5. Re:Alternate possibility? by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

      How do you know that? Have you been running planetary formation models and studying formation timescales?

      Aaaand he goes for the personal attack.

      Actually, I have a PhD in Planetary Science. I've worked in areas directly related to this. That's how I know.

      You?

      What 'standard model' is that? There is no complete theory in planetary formation- plus, Jupiter's core is metallic hydrogen, not water.

      Yes, there is a standard model. Ask any planetary scientist. I know of one dissenting view that involves an instability model, but while it's interesting, it's not widely accepted yet.

      Also, Jupiter's core is more certainly not metallic hydrogen. There is a metallic hydrogen layer over the core, but there's likely (Juno will confirm this) a 10-Earth-Mass core under that. Made mostly of, yes, water ice.

      (We know a bit less about Jupiter's core than the other giant planets because that metallic hydrogen has a rather unknown equation of state. The other giant planets all have 10-Earth-Mass (thereabouts) cores to a much higher level of certainty.)

      If you're unaware of this, you shouldn't post with such authority.

      (like, forming a big Jupiter doesn't leave enough material around for other planets, and on the same time the stellar wind keeps on blowing material away from the system).

      Um, no. In every model of planet formation I've ever seen, Jupiter forms faster than any of the other planets. The very existence of the other planets puts lie to your claim. As I said, Jupiter can't magically hoover up all of the material in the entire disk. Simple energy and angular momentum considerations would tell you that that's pretty much impossible, for a start.

      And THAT is what I mean by timespace.

      Congrats. You've found a way to use the term to mean something that no one else in science understands.

      And dust particles are neither H, nor He. Plenty of metals are around these days, even more so on star-forming regions.

      Absolutely. Lots of other stuff around. Planets' worth of it. But it's much, much less abundant than the hydrogen and helium. Reaction rates will be very, very slow.

      Even more simple: stuff is in dynamic balance; water that forms on some distance from the star, will be destroyed if it drifts too close into the star.

      Yes and no. First of all, the proto-star isn't running that hot (check the Hiashi tracks). Secondly, it's been noted by a lot of people that the disk protects the rest of the disk. If you buried behind an AU of other disk material, not a lot of UV gets to you. Even the temperature profile of the disk has almost nothing to do with the temperature of the star. (It's got far more to do with the Virial Theorem and energy given up as material marches inward toward the protostar.)

      Look, your posts are full of misinformation and poor understanding of physics and astronomy. I wouldn't mind as much if you weren't passing yourself off as an expert. Clearly, you're not. I also see from your other posts that you're prone to behave like a bit of a jerk. So I'm not going to reply further after this, feel free to get in the last word.

    6. Re:Alternate possibility? by arisvega · · Score: 1

      Yes, there is a standard model. Ask any planetary scientist.

      I have, and there isn't any.

      I know of one dissenting view that involves an instability model, but while it's interesting, it's not widely accepted yet.

      And what is? A theory of flying lavaballs that collide and stick together?

      (like, forming a big Jupiter doesn't leave enough material around for other planets, and on the same time the stellar wind keeps on blowing material away from the system).

      Um, no. In every model of planet formation I've ever seen, Jupiter forms faster than any of the other planets.

      True that. You have to understand that this example was meant to illustrate accretion-antagonists, and that was before you started bragging about your PhD- so I tried to ease up on the examples.

      Look, your posts are full of misinformation and poor understanding of physics and astronomy. I wouldn't mind as much if you weren't passing yourself off as an expert. Clearly, you're not. I also see from your other posts that you're prone to behave like a bit of a jerk.

      I could say the same for you, plus some patronizing trends.

      So I'm not going to reply further after this, feel free to get in the last word.

      Actually, I have a PhD in Planetary Science. I've worked in areas directly related to this. That's how I know.

      You?

      You won't answer but you would like to know?

      Instead of playing dumb and dismissive, and perceiving a 'how do you know' question as a personal attack, try to actually read what I am saying; posting a link to what you think as 'the standard model' for planetary formation will give you much more credit as an authority, which I suspect interests you- personally I feel inclined to believe a theory including instabilities, because I have not seen a simulation (not including instabilities) that evolves mm size to km size particles. If you have seen such a simulation, link to it.

      As for Jupiter, on which I am no expert, to the best of my knowledge a standard model advocates metallic H, and snowline accretion. I have too heard speculation on water cores, am not dismissing it, and waiting for the results, which we haven't seen yet. Plus I have no idea what kind of EoS such pressurized water will feature. What we HAVE seen, though, is lots of hydrogen, and that is what I pointed out. How that drove you to write 'The very existence of the other planets puts lie to your claim' eludes me; you think I can't see that there are other planets? And since you seem to have a grasp on timescales (and O abundances) I still don't understand what made you wonder about the oxygen in the first place (which I mistakenly thought you meant Earth's biologically originated atmospheric oxygen, right before -for some reason- you got rude).

      Congrats. You've found a way to use the term to mean something that no one else in science understands.

      I'm very glad that you don't speak for the whole of science, especially with that kind of attitude.

      --
      The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
  31. Re:So... there is a God? by leuk_he · · Score: 1

    ueeuh, this story is about the splitting of the waters. that is described in genesis (old testament => part of bible...) ,I think day 3:

    "Then God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters.' And God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse and it was so. "

  32. How do they know? by Froggels · · Score: 0

    The article doesn't get into specifics regarding how they determined the origin of most of Earth's water. Is there more information as to how they came to this conclusion?

    1. Re:How do they know? by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      Their model says enough water will be produced to account for the water, removing the need for other sources.

  33. Re:Settled science, huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Another decades-old pillar of the Theory of evolution shot to hell.
    And this new waterlogged guess makes no more scientific sense than the absurd guess that preceded it.

    The existing thought regarding water on Earth is that there wasn't enough around to explain why we have so much now, unless it came from somewhere else. We know that comets are largely made of water, and we know they hit planets all the time, so it's quite likely that some of the water DID come from them.
    What this article is saying, is that it's possible the Earth could have formed with enough water on its own, and wouldn't need an outside source to explain how much is here now.

    You're actually backwards- this is a blow to Anti-evolution 'theory'. The creationists have tried to claim that life could not have evolved on Earth because there wasn't enough water and therefore God must have had to be involved; the argument that the water didn't necessarily originate here was a counter to that argument which fits in with what we see happening in the Real World. This article is showing that the counter-argument is not needed to dismiss that specific Creationist argument, since the water could very easily have been here the whole time.

    Either way, it says absolutely nothing about Evolutionary Theory at all, since that Theory addresses life actually starting and then developing, and you're talking about the conditions for life not the process of life itself.

    Of course, that's probably way too complex for you to understand, so I'll sum it up: If you're arguing over how to make an omelette, whether you brought the eggs from the store or got them from the cooler doesn't matter.

  34. Re:So... there is a God? by pr0f3550r · · Score: 1

    Yet, Christians, Jews, and Muslims will accept this conclusion very well and this article will not be 'news' to them.

  35. Fountains of the Deep by mlush · · Score: 2

    Creations claiming that this paper is talking about the Fountains of the Deep and science has proved the Flood in
    3
    2
    1...

  36. Of course it did by joeyblades · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Everything that exists on this planet was the output from stars. Therefore, everything on Earth came from outer space, including it's water. The only question is when did the water arrive relative to the majority of the other star debris.

    1. Re:Of course it did by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      The only question is when did the water arrive relative to the majority of the other star debris.

      Right. The main question is: Did it arrive after there was an Earth, or was it already part of the accretion disk material that eventually coalesced into the planet. If it was already here, then Earth's water didn't come from anywhere, it was already present at the moment in time at which one could meaningfully say "Earth's" anything.

      So what you're saying is technically correct in one sense. However the statement that "Earth's water didn't come from outer space" is also be technically correct in another sense, assuming it pans out, and as it happens a more meaningful sense. In this context, of course; there are contexts where the fact that we are all made of star-stuff is the more useful observation. But in this case, it's more like asking whether Clark Kent came from outer space, or from Mrs. Kent's womb. If you say the answer must be outer space because everything came from outer space, then you're missing why the question is interesting.

      I mean, in an even less relevant context, you could say that since everything originated from the Big Bang when space-time itself was compressed to an infinitesimal point and the region which would eventually contain the earth was closer to everything else in the universe than two atoms in your body are today, nothing came from outer space. Interesting in some contexts, but not the most important thing to note when discussing planetary formation. :)

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    2. Re:Of course it did by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      We are stardust, we are golden.

      You're right, but the when and how exactly is probably something good to know.

  37. RTFA by mdsolar · · Score: 3, Informative

    Reading the conclusions of the fine article, I notice "...the more probable source for early water oceans [on Earth] is the collapse of the planet's steam atmosphere..." and "... these oceans may not persist over billions of years on smaller planets against the processes of atmospheric escape and continuing impact blow-off..."

    It is a clue also that the title is about early oceans. This paper has nothing to do with the origin of Earth's present oceans but rather discusses early, pre-bombardment phase water and also more massive rocky planets.

  38. Re:So... there is a God? by HermMunster · · Score: 1

    Water from stones? Next thing you'll be telling me is that we can get blood from turnips.

    --
    You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
  39. Better explanation: condensation by bl8n8r · · Score: 1

    Early on when the earth was just starting out, there was all sorts of rocks, dust, planetoids and other debris floating around the solar system. As stuff slammed into the earth, it's mass increased. It "sucked in" more and more debris which gave it more mass: omnomnomnom > more mass > omnomnomnom > more mass... etc, etc.  The frequency of and size of debris constantly pummeling the earth  created an immense amount of heat.  The heat created a bubbling lava-like ooze that covered the planet. Eventually, the supply of nearby debris was exhausted and the ooze started to cool.  As it cooled, steam and vapor condensed into clouds and finally rain.  The falling rain cooled the earth more, which created more condensation, which created more rain.. etc, etc.

    It's intriguing to think of the heating and cooling process as a recursive function :)

    --
    boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
  40. Re:So... there is a God? by vlm · · Score: 1

    Most of the water in the mix was probably lost from inner planets (boiled out of the then molten balls of rock). TFA claims that not all was lost, and the part that was not lost was enough to later form the oceans of the Earth.

    Another problem is without a decent ionosphere / ozone layer / magnetosphere / WTF, hard ultraviolet dissociates H2O into H and O and the H floats away unless your planet is the size of Jupiter (yes, I'm well aware this is a simplification)

    Mars could have started with as much water as earth, but with a high enough UV flux in the atmosphere, the hydrogen quickly floats away, and its all over, even if Mars is further away from the sun than the earth.

    Mercury, yeah mercury is kind of toasty and small to keep water for a long time but Mars had different problems keeping its water.

    Which complicates that whole 'odds of life' thing, because its not enough to have a planet in the liquid water range of orbits, nor is it enough to have plenty of H2O, but you also need a way to protect that H2O from dissociation.

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  41. Re:Settled science, huh? by vlm · · Score: 1

    so I'll sum it up: If you're arguing over how to make an omelette, whether you brought the eggs from the store or got them from the cooler doesn't matter.

    Yeah, as if that explanation is going to do anything but confuse him.
    "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
    "God planted the evidence/egg in both the store and cooler to test our faith"
    "Ah I love the smell of progress in the morning"

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  42. Water from space never made sense to me by bemenaker · · Score: 2

    The whole water from the large bombardment period never really made that much sense to me. It always seemed like grasping at straws. The idea that water/ice was either in rocks, or just part of the mass that coalesced into the earth makes far more sense. There is water vapor in Saturn's rings, so why wouldn't there be water vapor in the dust cloud the earth formed from?

    1. Re:Water from space never made sense to me by arisvega · · Score: 2

      The whole water from the large bombardment period never really made that much sense to me. It always seemed like grasping at straws.

      Before waiving your hand in dismissal, perhaps Your Exellence would consider investigating the D/H isotopic ratio of the oceans, and how they compare with the cometary one- a possible correction for long-term exposure to cosmic rays may also apply.

      Btw it's called 'science', and 'working with evidence'.

      --
      The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
  43. Re:Settled science, huh? by Haeleth · · Score: 1

    Er, what? The theory of evolution describes the process by which life changes over time, and that is settled science, disputed only by cranks, religious fundamentalists, and the uneducated.

    How life arose in the first place is a different question that is surrounded by uncertainty and constant debate, both scientific and otherwise. Anyone you have heard claiming that this other question is settled was merely trying to prove their pet theory by assertion.

  44. That's Life by b4upoo · · Score: 1

    Water leaching from rocks makes sense if there is a motive force such as bacteria digesting rock. There's a whole lot of eating going on.

    1. Re: That's Life by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Water leaching from rocks makes sense if there is a motive force such as bacteria digesting rock. There's a whole lot of eating going on.

      Ewwww. Ich. Are you saying that the nice white beach is bacterial doo-doo?

      That's it! I'm staying in the basement!

      (Returning to reality a bit, you might consider physical and chemical forces first, no need to invoke your furry little colonic friends.)

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  45. Re:Settled science, huh? by mcgrew · · Score: 1

    Life had to form before it evolved.

  46. Re:So... there is a God? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The water... came out of stones.

    Obviously, this happened just after Moses struck the rock with his staff.

  47. Re:So... there is a God? by jameskojiro · · Score: 1

    A person eats the turnip, thier body breaks it down and uses it's sugars, starches, and proteins to make blood cells.

    Blood from a Turnip!

    --
    Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
  48. Re:So... there is a God? by slick7 · · Score: 1

    The water appeared out of nowhere?

    Silly goose, water comes from Fiji, or at least it did.

    --
    The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
  49. When Mars collided with Earth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1) The Moon was formed from the Earth when a "Mars-sized" body collided with Earth, flinging a bunch of matter away from the Earth, which then coalesced into the Moon, orbiting Earth, at some time long ago during the formation of the solar system.
    2) That "Mars-sized" body was actually Mars itself, which originally had an orbit closer to the Sun and more elliptical, which crossed Earth's orbit, and both the young Earth and young Mars had fairly large amounts of water on them back then. A collision was inevitable.
    3) The collision flung off a bunch of matter from Earth (which formed the Moon) but most of Mars' water and a fair amount of Earth's water got flung off into space by the collision, and the water (ice once in space) remained in orbit in relatively close proximity to the Earth.
    4) Mars was flung away by the collision into it's current orbit, more circular and much farther away from the Sun.
    5) Earth's gravity eventually recaptured the vast majority of the ice/water and it's now in our oceans. A very small portion of the ice was captured by the Moon, and is still there today, as ice deposits found in the polar regions of the Moon now show.
    6) Mars retains only a tiny fraction of its former oceans and it's all frozen.

  50. Dumbest post on /. ever by Gnea · · Score: 0

    This is so stupid: if the rocks that had the water/ice in them came from outer space to form the planet Earth, then the water/ice came from rocks in outer space in the first place, then came from within Earth.

    The water/ice still came from rocks in outer space whether they arrived before or after the initial formation of the planet.

  51. Not this "great intellect" again ... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

    ... either that or I don't think that Hawaii is in the water just because it is surrounded by it.

    ... and, no, the atmosphere is not part of the earth. Much like outer space, it surrounds the Earth.

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    1. Re:Not this "great intellect" again ... by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      Oh, ok, so you're working off some definition you pulled out of your ass. Cool.

    2. Re:Not this "great intellect" again ... by metrix007 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Why don't you respond to AC's? Not everything who has something positive to contribute needs an account.

      --
      If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
    3. Re:Not this "great intellect" again ... by c6gunner · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I reserve the right to respond when they post something interesting. In fact, I just did. But I find that 99% of AC comments are crap, so I'll skip over most of them, and certainly don't want to waste time acknowledging the few that I do read. I'm not sure how effective the sig is at deterring them, but I figured I'd give fair warning.

      Also, "I almost never respond to Anonymous Cowards" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

    4. Re:Not this "great intellect" again ... by metrix007 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Ahh, thanks for the reply. I just find it odd....I never used my account for many years because I would seldom post. A lot of the comments I read from AC's are just as valid as someone with an account, I just don't get the attitude around here that AC automatically equals not worth listening to.

      --
      If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
  52. Re:So... there is a God? by geekoid · · Score: 1

    Size doesn't matter, mass does. as well as distance from center to surface.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  53. Re:So... there is a God? by dwinks616 · · Score: 1

    So that's why the sky is blue and water falls from it? Because there's an ocean up there? Genesis sure knows how to convince me it's not completely made up shit, that's for sure! I guess NASA has been launching submarines on their rockets this whole time and SCUBA divers? Neat!

  54. Everything on Earth came from "outer space" by mschaffer · · Score: 1

    Earth (like any celestial body) is surrounded by "outer space". Earth formed in "outer space". Everything on Earth came from "outer space". So, yes, one way or another, all water on Earth came from "outer space".
    The question is really when, how, and from where did the water come from!

    1. Re:Everything on Earth came from "outer space" by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Without the Earth, there is no "Outer Space", ergo "Outer Space" did not exist when the Earth was formed, and it is completely contrary to the definition of "Outer Space" to falsely conclude otherwise.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  55. Re:So... there is a God? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This subject is completely Biblical. Moses may water come out of the rocks.

  56. Re:So... there is a God? by aquila.solo · · Score: 1

    Size doesn't matter... distance from center to surface.

    If "radius" doesn't qualify as a measure of size, I don't know what does.

  57. You're on the wrong side of Mars, try Venusville. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm over at a bakery in Venusville, where the girls are clean and they bring you cookies before warming you up.

  58. water from the rock by shnull · · Score: 1

    how very biblical

    --
    beware he who denies you access to information for in his mind, he already deems himself to be your master (SMAC-ish)
  59. Re:So... there is a God? by wkcole · · Score: 1

    I wonder how much this removal of water from the rocks depends on the earth having a hot mantle?

    None of the *removal* depends on a hot mantle...

    If the mantle were cooler, then the water would stay there instead of being cooked out as steam and being able to re-condense else where. This is massively speculative of course -

    It is also ignorant of the real interaction of water with silicate magmas. Short form: it is not what you think.

    but could part of the reason mars no longer has a liquid ocean be that since the planet has cooled now, all it's water is locked up back in the rocks again? Is the fact that we have a hot interior on our planet the main driving factor that allows us to have a liquid ocean?

    Not really. Freezing a silicate magma that is saturated with water releases water , so cooling a molten blob that has a makeup roughly like that of Earth or Mars frees up water (initially as water vapor, at least at surface pressures and silicate-freezing temperatures) that had been dissolved in the magma. The problem at that point is holding on to the water vapor. Earth has held it as a result of being heavier and having a large semi-molten iron core whose complex spin creates a strong magnetic field. That field deflects the solar wind, protecting the atmosphere from a constant ionizing blast. On Mars, the solidified core offers no protection and the solidified mantle long ago finished releasing of all of the water it held, so over time the solar wind essentially blasted away the bulk of the atmosphere, including most of the water.

    However, a hot mantle is a feature of an Earth/Mars type planet that can have a stable surface hydrosphere. The hot mantle implies a core that can sustain a strong magnetic field and it holds a reserve of water that it will release to the surface as it (inevitably) cools. Looked at another way, it provides an input of water to a surface hydrosphere and will always exist in the presence of the one feature we know of which can slow the loss of water to space.

  60. 1 of metrix007's many alternate reg'd accounts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I never used my account for many years because I would seldom post" by metrix007 (200091) on Tuesday November 30, @02:38PM (#34393092)

    That's because this is only 1 of your many alternate registered luser accounts here that you use to harass or to down moderate others here with and to moderate up your own posts from your other registered luser accounts here as well. You're not fooling anyone metrix007.

    1. Re:1 of metrix007's many alternate reg'd accounts by metrix007 · · Score: 1

      Only APK quotes like you do, i.e. like an idiot. Stop following me troll.

      --
      If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
  61. metrix007 has multiple registered luser accounts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    metrix007 uses many registered luser accounts to both harass and down moderate others with while he upward mods his other alternate registered luser accounts with the dummy alternate registered luser accounts he has.

  62. Hunhh? by Heartlessly+Hoping · · Score: 0

    What other rocky planets are awash in seas?