Earthsky Interviews
Ted Bergin: ‘Space clouds contain water enough to fill oceans’
09-14-2009 - Space
That’s astronomer Ted Bergin of the University of Michigan. He’s describing huge clouds of molecules in space that can eventually collapse to form thousands of stars and planets.
Ted Bergin: So we know that we’re seeing carbon monoxide, and we know that we’re seeing methanol, we’re detecting alcohol in space, and most importantly, water.
As a gas cloud in space collapses under its own weight, Bergin said that hydrogen and oxygen molecules combine and freeze as water ice on grains of dust. He added that a lot of water – enough water to fill oceans – collects as ice in planet-forming discs that surround young stars.
Ted Bergin: So the disc itself, and the cloud, will have thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of oceans of water. And a fraction of that gets incorporated into Earth-like planets.
Bergin also said that the building blocks of life – what scientists called ‘pre-biotic’ molecules – ride along with the ice in clouds during planet formation.
Ted Bergin: Now maybe they don’t have anything to do with the initial steps of life. But maybe they aided and sort of ‘jump-started’ the initial steps transitioning from chemistry to biology.
Bergin said that water actually makes it easier for stars to form in the first place. That’s because hotter objects tend to resist the gravitational forces trying to gather them up into star- or planet-shaped objects. And water, or ice, helps cool this process, enabling gravity to do its work.
Ted Bergin: So that’s why molecules are crucial, and water is a very important one. At some stages when things are collapsing to form stars, it’s a very efficient coolant. It keeps things cold so it’s easier for stars to be born.
He added that this work has important parallels to earthly processes.
Ted Bergin: To me it’s very exciting that one can dream of parallels between our own origins, the water in our bodies and the water we drink, with things that happened billions of years ago.
Our thanks to:
Edwin (Ted) Bergin
Professor of Astronomy
University of Michigan
But doesn’t all that water put the star’s fires out? All joking aside, thank you for a most interesting and informative podcast. It will be fascinating to discover another earth like planet with oceans of liquid water perhaps capable of supporting life. I hope I live long enough to hear of it but, alas, I can only dream of what it might look like.
Hi Hank :] Im very involved with space so heres your answer:
Bergin said that water actually makes it easier for stars to form in the first place. That’s because hotter objects tend to resist the gravitational forces trying to gather them up into star- or planet-shaped objects. And water, or ice, helps cool this process, enabling gravity to do its work.
its called the 8th paragraph smart one!!
Caroline, thank you for your answer. While I was joking about the ice putting the star’s fires out, after your reply, I now realize there is an element of fact in it. The ice (and water) really play an important role to cool things off. It’s truly an amazing universe we live in!
Hank…. i think Caroline just called you a “smart one” as in NOT!! lol. She should know…she’s “very involved with space” (tranlates “spacey”).. .hehe. Mebbe she missed the part about “all joking aside”. Go figure. Anyway…i agree…it was most informative
Well, our understanding of the Universe sure has evolved even in the brief span of 30 years since my HS days! Back then, the popular opinion was that water was a very scarce commodity in the universal scheme of things, and sense ALL life requires water, life outside our atmosphere was doubtful. Now we learn water is abundant in the Universe. Perhaps life is as abundant as water. Indeed, Life is Everywhere! We, as a species, are just too limited to realize this. Many think intelligence only resides between the ears, but that, too, is everywhere! Intelligent Universe Theory…
This could explain how it rained 40 days and 40 nights back 7000 yrs ago during the flood of Noah’s day. What if one of these clouds passed in the proximity of our solar system, might explain water on the moon as well as other surrounding planets.
Haha rob, how could you pollute such well thought out science with a fictional-biblical myth.
@rob
Your claim could be proved.If I look at other space clouds , and see what after effects they cause , then one can start matching up similarities.
To Rob of 11-16-09
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Oh please! I sincerely hope you were joking. If so, very funny. If not, read a book…..a science book(s). Then you will truly understand the the difference between an intriguing myth and what Science, ie.Physics, will and will not allow.
I am very serious and consider myself educated so I know what books you are talking about, as you know which Book I am referring too. The fact is that Columbus could have known for sure that the world was round through the Bible, and the same book has many “scientific” explanations, including references to continents separating, among others.
The books you are referring to didn’t exist in Columbus’ day, and current trend suggests the books of today will be outdated even sooner, but I don’t see any new updates to the Bible coming up (just new translations) nor in the past 2000 years. Think about that for a minute.
Anyway, please don’t be repelled by a scientific inquiry just because it is generated based on reading controversial text. Another theory I have is that many of the famous scientists in the past were laughed at for presenting ideas that we have been able to prove true in our day.