Eshan Maitra

What is first thing that we look for when we return home from work, sport or school? Water! It is a name of comfort and satisfaction. Especially in such hot weather! We all wrote an essay on Water once in our life in school; with the headline saying ‘Water is Life’. Basically it is part of our daily need. Even scientifically, truly water IS life. Without the presence of water, life would not be able to form or sustain in this planet. By far only on Earth, the sign of life has been observed. Which is majorly related to having 70% of water body. It even makes up for 60% of our body mass. Though it is everywhere here. It is hardly found in our solar system or galaxy in abundance amount, in liquid form, other than Earth. How did this amount of water wound up on Earth? While there were so many vacant planets! Did aliens bring them? Or are we part of a lifeform-experiment, observed by a higher race of civilization from far far away? Or was it just a coincidence?
How even the water molecules formed in space? Simply we only know that, it is a combination of Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms. History of Bing Bang tells us, there was a huge bang in space. Far in time. When our solar system probably consisted of random number of stars or nebulas. Or some greater massive bodies. It suggests that, Hydrogen existed from the beginning of time. Which constantly burns and fuels the stars to glow constantly. Our Sun shines our days the same way. But these massive bodies also produced heat in the process. As the heat rises, the Hydrogen atoms can fuse together to form bigger atoms. Such as Helium. Then Helium atoms can combine together and can create other varieties of atoms. But that requires a huge amount of heat. Which was common for those hot stars to provide. Though scientists say the Oxygen came in picture millions of years after the Hydrogen atoms. Such environment is called Nucleosynthesis process.
The theory tells, the massive bodies went through several struggles and formed gas clouds of varieties of molecules. Finally it was transformed into our Solar system. But there were bits of masses that roamed around by pulls and pushes of gravitational forces of newly formed planets or stars. These still exists in the space. Called comets or asteroids. In those times, Earth was being bombarded with tons of those every day. Earth was much hotter. As it kept growing bigger and cooler. It was forming into a more stable planet with less calamities.
There two suggestion about how Earth became so lucky to collect so much water on its surface. If Earth already formed with water on its surface. It would have evaporate all of it and fume everything back into the space. Earth required an atmosphere to trap all the water vapors. So probably, millions of years after when finally earth was so cool to let out burned volcanic. Which is called outgassing. Those gases stayed and formed the suitable atmosphere to trap all the water.
Still, that great amount of water should had to contain itself before that. Recent researches proved that, space rocks such as Carbonaceous Chondrite Meterorites contains water within their bodies. That formed about at the same time our solar was born. These rocks’ mineral structure is surprisingly common to earth rocks. Many other ice bearing asteroids showed the same characteristics. This is why scientists believe, most of our water was brought by the ice-comets. Or much like, by the universe itself. Centering the manifestation of life in only one planet. Might be coincidence, or we just got lucky. Whatever it might be, we should not take water for granted. Universe worked very hard to provide us this much. It went through millions of years of chaotic journey to finally add up to the enough portion. We should be grateful that we have plenty on Earth for our livelihood. Still, out of Earth’s 70% water, only 2.5% is drinkable. Do not let the universe down. Let us make the use of water wisely.