Satellite 'AKARI' detects water in 17 asteroids.
A Japanese satellite 'Akari' and research team has detected the existence of water in a number of asteroids, using the infrared light.
Researchers and scientist from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) and the University of Tokyo found that water is retained in asteroids as hydrated minerals, which were produced by chemical reactions of water and anhydrous rocks that occurred inside the asteroid.
According to the study - presented in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan - hydrated minerals are stable even above the sublimation temperature of water ice. By looking for hydrated minerals, scientists can investigate whether asteroids contain water.
“Asteroids are considered to be one of the candidates that brought water to Earth. Note that the liquid water is not flowing on the surface of asteroids, but water is retained in asteroids as hydrated minerals, which were produced by chemical reactions of water and anhydrous rocks that occurred inside the asteroids - that is, aqueous alteration,” the research highlights.
Scientists can detect the water situation on these asteroids. Japan's Infrared Satellite was launched in February 2006 and its operation was completed in 2011. For the first time, the study of data collected by the scientists has found evidence of hydrated mineral at 17 asteroids.
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