Do Water Worlds Fill the Milky Way? - The Cosmic Companion Feb. 24, 2021
Water worlds like Earth may be common throughout the galaxy, according to a new study of how our own planet formed.
Water worlds might fill our galaxy, a new study examining the formation of the inner planets of our own solar system reveals. What does this mean for life?
Water-rich rocky exoplanets may be even more common than we thought, a new study suggests. Image credit: The Cosmic Companion / Created in Universe Sandbox
Astronomers currently know of more than 4,400 exoplanets orbiting alien suns. Many of these may be water worlds, according to a new study examining how Earth and the rocky planets of our solar system first took shape.
Roughly 4.5 billion years ago, the rocky planets of the Solar System could have coalesced from millimeter-sized (1/25″) pebbles of ice carbon-rich stones, this new study suggests. This could deliver far more water, more quickly, to planets than could be delivered by comets impacting on their surface.
If this idea is confirmed, it would provide a plausible explanation of how Earth (and Mars) were formed with large oceans of water so soon after their formation. It would also suggest that water worlds may be common throughout the galaxy, potentially increasing chances for extraterrestrial life to develop on these watery worlds.
Read more: https://thecosmiccompanion.net/do-water-worlds-fill-the-milky-way
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