“NASA science activities have provided a wave of amazing findings related to water in recent years that inspire us to continue investigating our origins and the fascinating possibilities for other worlds, and life, in the universe,” Ellen Stofan, chief scientist for the agency, says in a feature on the abundance of water in the Universe.
“In our lifetime, we may very well finally answer whether we are alone in the solar system and beyond.”
The chemical elements in water, hydrogen and oxygen, are some of the most abundant elements in the universe. Astronomers see the signature of water in giant molecular clouds between the stars, in disks of material that represent newborn planetary systems, and in the atmospheres of giant planets orbiting other stars.
Below isa graphic explaining the moons and dwarf planets in our solar system that are likely to have oceans.
Originally published by Cosmos as Water, water everywhere – and NASA is finding it in surprising places
Bill Condie
Bill Condie is a science journalist based in Adelaide, Australia.
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