Scientists have discovered a possible “missing link” in the search for the origin of water on Earth, with evidence suggesting the planet's water could be older than the Sun, research published on Wednesday showed.
The team used ground-based telescopes to work out the chemical composition of a young star, V883 Orionis, and detected chemical signatures of heavy water in its rotating disc of gas and dust.
Lead author John J Tobin said the work suggests V883 Orionis, 1,300 light-years away from Earth, may be the connection scientists have been waiting for to understand more about how the solar system and Earth got their water.
Mr Tobin, an astronomer at the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory, said: “We can now trace the origins of water in our solar system to before the formation of the Sun.
“The composition of the water in the [Orionis] disc is very similar to that of comets in our own solar system.”
Researchers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (Alma), made up of 66 radio telescopes in northern Chile, to observe V883 Orionis.
Water there is frozen in the outermost part of this disc so the instruments were unable to detect it.
But an outburst of energy from the star heated the inner disc to a temperature in which water is gaseous, and the astronomers were able to identify its chemical signatures.
From there, they determined the composition of the water and mapped its distribution within the disc.
They said the V883 Orionis disc contains at least 1,200 times the amount of water in all Earth’s oceans.
The team, whose work was published in the journal Nature, also detected the presence of heavy water, in which water molecules are made with heavy isotopes of hydrogen known as deuterium.
Water with high deuterium content can only form if there is enough energy to power the reaction that binds hydrogen, oxygen and deuterium.
Heavy water occurs naturally on Earth but in smaller quantities — at a proportion of about one heavy water molecule in 3,200 normal water molecules.
As normal and heavy water form under different conditions, their ratio can be used to trace when and where it was formed.
In this instance, scientists believe Earth got its water from icy asteroids or comets from outside the solar system.
“We can think of the path of water through the universe as a trail,” Mr Tobin said.
“Until now, the chain of water in the development of our solar system was broken.
“V883 Orionis is the missing link in this case and we now have an unbroken chain in the lineage of water from comets and protostars to the interstellar medium.”
V883 Orionis is a protostar, which means it is still gathering mass in the form of rotating discs of gas and dust from its parent molecular cloud.
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
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At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
More on Quran memorisation:
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The biog
Name: Gul Raziq
From: Charsadda, Pakistan
Family: Wife and six children
Favourite holes at Al Ghazal: 15 and 8
Golf Handicap: 6
Childhood sport: cricket
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Royal wedding inspired menu
Ginger, citrus and orange blossom iced tea
Avocado ranch dip with crudites
Cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini club sandwiches
Elderflower and lemon syllabub meringue
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
