Discovery of water in stardust suggests universe is teeming with life

Scientists have discovered that the tiny grains of stardust that float around in our solar system contain both water and the basic chemical building blocks of life. This finding mean that they may be a source of organic life here on Earth, and possibly elsewhere in the universe as well.

Our solar system is filled with matter, from the sun and the planets right down to the tiniest grains of dust. For a long time, this stardust has been thought to contain water, formed there as the stream of charged hydrogen atoms the sun (the solar wind) bombards the oxygen-rich grains of silicate dust. Now, by gathering actual grains of stardust and examining them very closely — specifically with an extremely high-resolution microscope — a team of scientists has found that these grains do contain water, locked away under the surface layer. Since we've already discovered that this dust contains organic matter, combined with the water, this may have helped kick-start life on Earth.

"The implications are potentially huge," said Hope Ishii of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, according to New Scientist. "It is a particularly thrilling possibility that this influx of dust on the surfaces of solar system bodies has acted as a continuous rainfall of little reaction vessels containing both the water and organics needed for the eventual origin of life."

Exactly how much of this water makes it onto planets like Earth still isn't know, but as Ishii told New Scientist, "In no way do we suggest that this was sufficient to form oceans." This water would simply have added to what was delivered by the bombardment of asteroids and comets during the early years of the solar system.

[ More Geekquinox: Largest spider fossils ever found create new branch of spider family tree ]

The implications of these findings spread far beyond our planet and our star system. Cosmic dust seems to be ubiquitous in the universe, and solar systems are filled with it, just as ours is. If solar winds can create water on these grains of dust here, water will most likely form in dust around other stars due to their solar wind as well.

It's still a far cry from actually being able to say, without a doubt, that there's life out there in the universe (regardless of the statistical improbability that Earth is the only life-bearing planet). However, until we actually detect life on other worlds, or signals from distant alien beings, this is another addition to the growing mountain of evidence that we are not alone.

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Geek out with the latest in science and weather.
Follow @ygeekquinox on Twitter!