The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which "arrived" at the asteroid Bennu on December 3 but has been slowly approaching it for weeks, has found evidence of Bennu's interaction with liquid water in the past:
In a conference today, scientists announced that OSIRIS-REx has found evidence of hydrated minerals on the surface of Bennu using its on-board spectrometers - tools used to determine the exact chemical composition of a specific spot.
That means "evidence of liquid water" in Bennu's past, according to Amy Simon, the scientist overseeing OSIRIS-REx's spectral analysis.
"To get hydrated minerals in the first place, to get clays, you have to have water interacting with regular minerals," says Simon. "This is a great surprise."
And they're abundant, too. There's "strong convincing, evidence that the surface is dominated by these hydrated minerals," according to Dante Lauretta, leader of OSIRIS-REx's sample return mission, leading the team to believe Bennu is "water rich".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @07:24PM (1 child)
There's no way to interpret the AC's remarks as presenting a dichotomy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @04:05AM
Wow, dude. Loosen up. You live in a world of total absolutes.
You should try some of that legal weed if it's available where you're at. You could benefit.
I also recommend a spirit journey. I didn't really understand who or what I was, other than book knowledge, until I went on one.