Meteorite may have clues about origin of water on Earth

Water is important to all the life on Earth

New research suggests that some of the water on Earth came from the edge of the Solar System.

Scientists have been studying parts of a meteorite called the Sutter's Mill meteorite and found out that it contained water rich in carbon dioxide (CO2).

The water was in the rock as ice crystals which means the meteorite must have been formed far out in space where it is cold enough for CO2 to freeze, before it fell to Earth.

Water covers about 70 percent of the World's surface

The Sutter's Mill meteorite is around 4.6 billion years old and was found in 2012.

It is a type of meteor called a Carbonaceous chondrite which often contain material that was shaped by the presence of water.

Planetary scientist Akira Tsuchiyama, from Japan, has found evidence of water inside calcite - a colourless mineral - in the Sutter's Mill meteorite.

Tsuchiyama said the team used a 3D X-ray and a transmission electron microscope (TEM) to look inside the meteorite pieces.

They needed to use powerful magnification to take really detailed pictures of the structure inside.

This method meant that none of the water trapped inside could leak out and be lost. They found lots of larger spaces where liquid used to be but had since evaporated.

But when they looked more closely they discovered tiny crystals of ice which melted at room temperature. Scientists had discovered space-made ice!

These images show what the researchers could see

By studying the different elements in liquids inside meteorites scientists can find out more about them and where they came from.

That will then help them understand more about how the Solar System was formed.