water in space

[STYRBJORN]

[quote=animartco;661570]

Originally Posted by STYRBJORN

Sorry to be so dense. It's just that comets are mainly water aren't they? Is there sort of a minimal size after which a lump of water will stay a lump of ice? Otherwise how did comets form?

Yup! A comet is of sufficient mass to hold itself together in free fall at 2.7*K (c -270*C). It is quite widely accepted by earth scientists that all the water on Earth is of cometary origin, from impacts whan the solar system was forming.

Ric

[animartco]

[quote=STYRBJORN;661678]

Originally Posted by animartco

Yup! A comet is of sufficient mass to hold itself together in free fall at 2.7*K (c -270*C). It is quite widely accepted by earth scientists that all the water on Earth is of cometary origin, from impacts whan the solar system was forming.

Ric

I'm like a little kid that keeps asking But Why? So we get our ocean from comets. But where do comets come from? Are they bits of exploding oceanic planets? Or was the ice actually formed in space? Hmm Don't see how that would be possible. It's rather interesting having a second hand ocean. Like our tap water, how many planet's insides has it been though before you drink it?

[STYRBJORN]

The comets were formed when the Sun and planets condensed to form the Solar System, 4.2 billion BP. The system was almost chaotic in the technical sense and the comets had not yet settled into regular orbits and were crossing planetary orbits. Hydrogen is by far the most common element, and all the hydrogen in the Universe was created in the Big Bang, 13.2 billion BP. Oxygen is produced by, wait for it, stellar nucleosynthesis, in all active stars. It is one of the commonest elements making up the Earth, but being highly reactive most of it is tied up in compounds. In the early stages of formation of the Solar System, there was a lot of free atomic hydrogen and oxygen and they readily combined to make water. Hmm, better rephrase that. Create water.
There are now believed to be two belts of comets, in the same way that there is the asteroid belt. The closer belt is the Kuiper belt, from which most of the comets we see inside the orbit of Pluto originate. Much further out is the Oort cloud.
Now please will you be quiet you bad girl or it's off to bed with no supper for you.

Ric

[animartco]

Originally Posted by STYRBJORN

The comets were formed when the Sun and planets condensed to form the Solar System, 4.2 billion BP. The system was almost chaotic in the technical sense and the comets had not yet settled into regular orbits and were crossing planetary orbits. Hydrogen is by far the most common element, and all the hydrogen in the Universe was created in the Big Bang, 13.2 billion BP. Oxygen is produced by, wait for it, stellar nucleosynthesis, in all active stars. It is one of the commonest elements making up the Earth, but being highly reactive most of it is tied up in compounds. In the early stages of formation of the Solar System, there was a lot of free atomic hydrogen and oxygen and they readily combined to make water. Hmm, better rephrase that. Create water.
There are now believed to be two belts of comets, in the same way that there is the asteroid belt. The closer belt is the Kuiper belt, from which most of the comets we see inside the orbit of Pluto originate. Much further out is the Oort cloud.
Now please will you be quiet you bad girl or it's off to bed with no supper for you.

Ric

Is there a smiley for a zipped lip?

[STYRBJORN]

Gillian - keep asking. If I can answer I will. BUT I'll keep taking the mick!

Ric X