Ever wondered how water first arrived on our planet? Well, it turns out the mystery could finally have been solved. Researchers have undertaken detailed analysis of asteroids and the findings could change the way the scientific community think about origins of water on our planet. Experts at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) have discovered salt crystals on samples recovered from space. As their findings state, these crystals could only have formed with the presence of water. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The research was undertaken on samples of the asteroid Itokawa in 2005 by the Japanese Hayabusa mission. It suggests that S-type asteroids could be home to more water than previously thought. The new findings led some scientists to claim that water is likely to have arrived on asteroids when our planet was first being formed. The senior’s author Tom Zega said: "The grains look exactly like what you would see if you took table salt at home and placed it under an electron microscope. "They're these nice, square crystals. It was funny, too, because we had many spirited group meeting conversations about them, because it was just so unreal. Zega added: "It has long been thought that ordinary chondrites are an unlikely source of water on Earth. Our discovery of sodium chloride tells us this asteroid population could harbour much more water than we thought." Itokawa is a S-type asteroid, and it’s thought that temperatures on their surfaces were too high for water to form. Shaofan Che, who is the lead study author, said: "In other words, the water here on Earth had to be delivered from the outer reaches of the solar nebula, where temperatures were much colder and allowed water to exist, most likely in the form of ice. "The most likely scenario is that comets or another type of asteroid known as C-type asteroids, which resided farther out in the solar nebula, migrated inward and delivered their watery cargo by impacting the young Earth." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Check out all the weapon buffs and nerfs in the Warzone Oct. 23 patch, including massive nerfs to the Lockwood 300 and TR-76 Geist.

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 22, 2023--

Celebrate Kentucky's upcoming sports betting launch with a $100 bonus from BetMGM! Find out how to claim this bonus in only a few minutes here.

TL;DR: Prime Video is hosting the Cincinnati Open in 2023. You can watch for free

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 7, 2023--

Roblox is finally coming to the PlayStation later this year.

DHL Group, Sasol Ltd. and HH2E AG agreed to collaborate on producing sustainable, hydrogen-based aviation fuels in Germany

MUNICH & PFORZHEIM, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 1, 2023--

If you already spend hours scrolling through TikTok -- let's face it, who doesn't? -- then you might have just found your dream job.

When most people picture New York City, it’s likely that its many skyscrapers are one of the first things that come to mind, but now, scientists are concerned that the city is sinking under their weight. It comes after the findings of a new study observed subsidence of the footprint after the geology beneath the city was modelled and compared to satellite data. The study was conducted by geologist Tom Parsons from the United States Geological Survey and colleagues from The University of Rhode Island, who found that, under the weight of its multiple skyscrapers, NYC is sinking by one to two millimetres per year. Subsistence can occur due to shifting soft sediments and the sheer weight of the load on the ground pushing it down. The study calculated that there are over 1 million buildings in NYC with a cumulative mass of approximately 764,000,000,000 kilograms. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter While a few millimetres of subsidence per year might sound like nothing, some parts of the city are subsiding faster – with calculations putting a sample site in lower Manhattan at 294 millimetres. To calculate the rates of subsidence, experts compared their modelling with satellite data that measured the land surface height. The scientists warn that thought must be given to low-lying cities such as NYC, which is home to 8 million people, particularly given rising sea levels and increasing flood risks. Parsons explained: “The point of the paper is to raise awareness that every additional high-rise building constructed at coastal, river, or lakefront settings could contribute to future flood risk.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Soo-hyang Choi SEOUL South Korea's interior minister urged on Thursday organisers of a global scout jamboree to