October 7th, 2010
08:28 PM ET

Water ice found on second asteroid this year

Researchers who showed the first evidence of water ice and organic molecules on an asteroid in April have found a second instance.

Scientists have found evidence of an asteroid carrying water and organic molecules for the second time this year, bolstering the theory that the building blocks of life on Earth came from an asteroid, according to the authors of a new study.

Researchers from the University of Central Florida who announced in April the first evidence of water ice and organic molecules on an asteroid have discovered the same material on the new asteroid, 65 Cybele.

“This discovery suggests that this region of our solar system contains more water ice than anticipated,” said University of Central Florida Professor Humberto Campins. “And it supports the theory that asteroids may have hit Earth and brought our planet its water and the building blocks for life to form and evolve here.”

Both are located in the same region of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Cybele has a diameter of 290 km (180 miles), compared with the  asteroid 24 Themis – the subject of the teams’ first paper - which has a diameter of 200 km (124 miles).

Using infrared spectral imaging, Campins said researchers found enough structural evidence to identify water ice and organic material on the asteroid, which was found closer to Jupiter than Mars.

Campins will present the findings Friday at the 42nd-annual Division of Planetary Sciences Conference in Pasadena, California.

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Filed under: Space
soundoff (133 Responses)
  1. Terrell Kates

    My instincts tell me that this asteroid thing must be a dominate master mind of destruction to even have the indasity & unmanly strength to be able to crush the Earth so rapidly and recklessly. These previous tsunamis and earthquakes to me are a result of just exactly what this monstrocity asteroid is capable of. Which is the power to activating external chaos like being the cause of volcanic eruptions

    March 17, 2011 at 11:06 am | Report abuse |
  2. javonn weaver

    an ansteroid is deadlyer than a meteor, like leabron vs kobey. lebron would kill kobey like lil wayne would kill emnine

    March 17, 2011 at 11:09 am | Report abuse |
  3. Lajuan Reed

    From my calculations there is alot about space that we dont know about. I feel that they shuld keep on researching space. So the can come up with some more information about it

    March 17, 2011 at 11:13 am | Report abuse |
  4. 24-Volts Charger Bargaincell

    I do believe all of the concepts you have introduced in your post. They are very convincing and can certainly work. Still, the posts are very brief for novices. May you please extend them a little from next time? Thank you for the post.

    May 7, 2012 at 1:24 pm | Report abuse |
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