‘Extra-terrestrial water’ found in a meteor that landed in the UK last year

UK

Extra-terrestrial water was found in a meteorite which landed last year in a driveway in the UK’s Cotswold town of Winchcombe. Reportedly, the Winchcombe meteorite is dubbed one of the most famous meteorites in the UK. However, it was not until recently that researchers found that at least 12% of the sample was made up of water. 

The meteorite could possibly give a clue to scientists on where the Earth’s vast oceans originate from. According to a report by The Independent, Ashley King, a researcher in the planetary materials group at the Natural History Museum said that not only is the specimen made up of 12% water, but it is also one of the least contaminated ones found to date. 

King also indicated that the composition of the water found in the Winchcombe meteorite is “very very similar” to Earth’s oceans. “It's a really good piece of evidence that asteroids and bodies like Winchcombe made a very important contribution to the Earth's oceans,” he said at the British Science Festival. One of the reasons why the half-kilogram meteorite was not that contaminated is because it was retrieved within 12 hours of crashing, King confirmed. 

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According to the researcher, this is the first time a meteorite containing extra-terrestrial water has fallen in the UK, however, it is locked up in minerals. In an interview, he reportedly said that “one of the big questions we have in planetary sciences is where did the water on Earth come from? And one of the obvious places is either through comets that have loads and loads of ice in them or asteroids.” 

He added, “There's always a debate - were comets the main source, were asteroids the main source?” Notably, a meteorite is a small piece of space debris which was a part of a larger asteroid, comet or meteoroid which did not get destroyed while entering the Earth’s atmosphere. According to the Natural History Museum meteorites are traditionally named after the place they were found. 

He also went on to explain that according to comet research the composition of water on comets, at least the few that have fallen on Earth does not match the planet’s ocean water. However, “The composition of the water in Winchcombe is a much better match, so that would imply that asteroids - carbonaceous asteroids - were probably the main source of water to the inner solar system, to the Earth,” said King. 

According to King, the asteroid from which the meteorite landed in the UK in February 2021 must have originated at least 4.6 billion years ago, at the very beginning of the Solar System. While the meteorite may have taken nearly 3,00,000 years from somewhere near Jupiter to land on Earth.

(With inputs from agencies)