WATER, the fundamental ingredient for life as we know it, is all around us. The good old H2O makes up most of our bodies, including the oceans, rivers and clouds, and is even found zooming around our solar system in the form of dusty snowballs we call comets.
In fact, there are water molecules inside your body that are older than our solar system. They are everywhere, or are they? How about on the surface of the Sun? Could water actually exist on the surface, which boasts a blistering, face-melting temperature of 5,500 degrees Celsius?
Verdict:
TRUE
At 5,500 degrees Celsius, it is too hot for hydrogen and oxygen atoms that make up water molecules to form, to bond. However, scientists recently discovered that while most of the surface of the Sun is too hot, the darker, and more importantly cooler, regions on the surface called sunspots actually have water on them.
These regions, which only typically record a relatively frigid 3,500 degrees Celsius, are just about cool enough for hydrogen and oxygen atoms to bond and make water molecules.
Good luck trying to get a drink on the surface of the Sun though, as the water only exists in the form of vapour.
References
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/
https://www.nature.com/
Credit: The Star : News Feed
