Meteorite Containing ‘Extra-Terrestrial Water’ Discovered for the First Time

The rock isn’t a massive one like other meteorites discovered on Earth. It weighs just 0.5 kg. As it was not contaminated, the scientists were able to provide some interesting insights into where the water on Earth comes from.


Extraterrestrial water was found in a meteorite that landed in a driveway in the United Kingdom. The Winchcombe meteorite, dubbed the UK’s most famous meteorite, crashed into the Gloucestershire town in February 2021.

More than a year later, it was discovered that the space rock contains extraterrestrial water.

Ashley King, a Natural History Museum meteorite researcher, has now revealed the secrets of the space rook to the British Science Festival. He said 12 percent of the sample was made up of water. 

“The composition of that water is very, very similar to the composition of water in the Earth’s oceans. It’s a really good piece of evidence that asteroids and bodies like Winchcombe made a very important contribution to the Earth’s oceans”, King told the British Science Festival.

He also stated that this was the first time a meteorite containing extraterrestrial water had fallen in the United Kingdom.

The rock is not as large as other meteorites discovered on Earth. It is only 0.5 kg in weight. Because it was not contaminated, the scientists were able to provide some intriguing insights into the origins of water on Earth.

Ashley King, in an interview with The Telegraph: “Were comets the main source, were asteroids the main source? The composition of water on comets, at least a few that we visited, doesn’t really match the earth’s oceans, but the composition of the water in the Winchcombe meteorite is a much better match.

“So that would imply that carbonaceous asteroids were probably the main source of water for the earth,” King added.

The Winchcombe meteorite was discovered just 12 hours after it hit the ground. The meteor was’really fresh,’ according to King, and it could become “a good piece of evidence to prove that asteroids and bodies like Winchcombe were delivering really important contributions to the earth’s oceans.”

The space rock most likely came from a larger carbonaceous asteroid that formed around 4.6 billion years ago.

READ MORE: Hoba – The Earth’s Largest Meteorite


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