Now a new study theorizes that Earth's water may have been carried to our planet from ancient comets, millions of years ago. The researchers found that the water contained an extra neutron inside one of the hydrogen atoms, chemically known as HDO; regular water is chemically known as H2O. The authors concluded that if comets contain the same ratio of water types as Earth's oceans, they may share a common origin. "We may need to rethink how we study comets because water released from the ice grains appears to be a better indicator of the overall water ratio than the water released from surface ice," Bockelée-Morvan added. It is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center and is a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR.

Source: Fox News May 28, 2019 13:41 UTC