The researchers used what’s called an ion microscope to compare the amount of normal hydrogen in the moon rocks to the amount of the hydrogen isotope deuterium, which carries an extra neutron. They found deuterium at higher levels than it’s found in Earth water—but at levels similar to the comets Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake and Halley. Which suggests comets deposited water on the ancient moon, shortly after its formation four-and-a-half billion years ago.
The finding could also explain a mystery of water on Earth—how the oceans got here. Because if comets battered the moon, they probably hit the Earth, too. Ocean water does have more deuterium than water in the Earth’s mantle. Maybe, the researchers say, that’s because the oceans have an extra dose of melted comet ice.
Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com
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