Find out how water got on the planet Earth

A team of French scientists has come up with crucial findings that will answer a longstanding puzzle of how the water got on planet Earth. The team reported in Science journal that the earth has been wet ever since it formed.

The findings contradict the prevalent theory that water got on the earth from comets and asteroids. Scientists so far have suspected meteorites known as carbonaceous chondrites that are rich in hydrous minerals as the source of water on earth.

But these carbonaceous chondrites don't resemble the earth's rocks and are formed in outer solar system. That raises doubts over them being the source of water.

Enstatite chondrites, a group of rocks that closely resemble the ones found on earth, were thought to be the source. But due to their proximity to Sun, they were thought to be too dry to be the source.

The team, through mass spectrometry, found that these rocks have enough hydrogen in them to provide Earth with at least three times the water mass of its oceans -- and possibly much more.