Approximately 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. But do you know that some of these water molecules have been in existence before the formation of our sun? You may be wondering about the possibility of the water you drink being older than the sun.
Scientists have already carried out studies that have enabled the world to understand the actual earth’s water age. So how old is water? How old is the sun? Why did scientists think that the water you drink older than the sun? Continue reading to find answers to these questions.
How old is water?
The water we use for bathing, cooking, drinking, and literally everything has existed for billions of years. A study conducted by scientists in the past decade proves that some water molecules on earth today are actually up to 4.6 billion years.
These scientists conducted the research by recreating the conditions within the disk of gas and dust, which led to the formation of the Solar System billions of years ago. This study enabled scientists to finalize that Earth and other celestial bodies within the Solar System must have obtained their water from the cloud of interstellar gas, which led to the formation of the Sun about 4.6 billion years ago.
The scientists also believed that Interstellar water contributed to forming most star systems and planets like our Solar System. Stars often form in the dense interstellar clouds of gas and dust where excessive water exists as ice. But as the Star begins to evolve, it generates enough heat that will vaporize some amount of water stored as ice in the interstellar clouds.
These vaporized ices will produce some water molecules in the form of oxygen and hydrogen. Scientists concluded that the presence of some water molecules on earth and other celestial bodies actually might actually come from the dense interstellar cloud. This implies that we are actually using the same water molecules that the dinosaurs used millions of years ago.
How old is the sun?
The sun is approximately 4.603 billion years old. Its formation about 4.6 billion years ago paved a way for other celestial bodies like our home planet, Earth, Jupiter, and others to form around 4.5 billion years ago. Since the formation of the sun, it has continued to produce hot plasma due to heat generated by the nuclear fusion reactions in its core.
It is so gigantic that the nearly perfect ball of hot plasma occupies about 99.8 percent of the solar system. Despite being so powerful, scientists think that the sun will run out of hydrogen fuel around five billion years in the future.
Since the sun burns hydrogen to helium in its core, it has continued to expand slowly and get brighter. Scientists think the sun will likely engulf the earth in around 7.98 billion years. But before them, humanity may have spread out in interstellar space to preserve the light of consciousness.
How the water you drink is discovered to be older than the sun
The water you drink may likely contain some water molecules millions of years older than the Solar System. Astrophysicists’ calculations have estimated that more than half of the entire Earth’s water may come from the Interstellar dense cloud of gas and dust.
These water molecules existed as ice in the interstellar cloud for millions of years before the Solar System began to form. However, when the sun was undergoing its formation process, it generated a high amount of heat that vaporized these ices stored in the interstellar clouds into water.
Keep in mind that the planets formed around the sun actually came from the nebulae materials that remained after the sun’s formation. Some of these nebulae materials actually contained some water molecules that made up our oceans, seas, and other forms of water on earth.
How old is earth?
The earth is about 4.543 billion years. It was formed alongside other celestial bodies within the solar system millions of years after the birth of the Sun. Several scientific studies enabled scientists to estimate that the formation of our beautiful home planet occured billions of years ago. However, it took the earth billions of years before becoming hospitable enough to accommodate living organisms.
Where did the oceans come from?
Where did the oceans come from? Scientists suggest that the creation of earth’s oceans occured during the heavy bombardment of interstellar asteroids and icy comets, which ended around 3.9 billion years ago. Some scientists also believed that the earth’s oceans were stored in the remaining interstellar nebulae materials that led to the formation of the sun and other planets.
This suggestion made astronomers believe that Earth may generate enough ocean water from the rocks that contributed to the formation of the planet billions of years ago.
Conclusion
The existence of water on earth has continued to sustain humanity and keep almost all living organisms alive. Scientific studies have enabled our scientists to suggest how water came to exist on the planet. What are your thoughts about the water you drink being older than the sun?
