Interplanetary Dust Particles Carry Water after Solar Wind Creates Amorphous Rims (IMAGE)
Caption
The surfaces of tiny interplanetary dust particles are space-weathered by the solar wind, causing amorphous rims to form on their surfaces. Hydrogen ions in the solar wind react with oxygen in the rims to form tiny water-filled vesicles (blue). This mechanism of water formation almost certainly occurs in other planetary systems with potential implications for the origin of life throughout the galaxy.
Credit
John Bradley, UH SOEST/ LLNL.
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