Water arrived on Earth earlier than thought

Planet’s oceans share common origin with water on asteroid Vesta

chunks of rock from the asteroid Vesta

TEST THE WATERS  Eucrites, chunks of rock from the asteroid Vesta, indicate that Earth received its first shipment of water as the planet was forming. This eucrite was found in northern Africa in 2005.

James St. John/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Water might have arrived on Earth as the planet was forming, according to new measurements of water in ancient space rocks.