Where Did Water Come From?

Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all super low on water – so where did ours come from and why do we have so much of it? We think our water came from a few unlikely sources: meteorites, space dust, and even the sun.

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Produced by Complexly for PBS Digital Studios

Super special thanks to the following Patreon patrons for helping make Eons possible:
Amanda Ward, Avery Sanford, Hillary Ryde-Collins, Stephanie Tan, Stephen Patterson, Mark Foster, Karen Farrell, Trevor Long, Raphael Haase, daniel blankstein, Roberto Adrian Ramirez Flores, Jason Rostoker, Jonathan Rust, Mary Tevington, Bart & Elke van Iersel - De Jong, William Craig II, James Dowling-Healey, Irene Wood, Derek Helling, WilCatRhClPPh33, Mark Talbott-Williams, Nomi Alchin, Eric Roberto Rodriguez, Yu Mei, Dan Ritter, 4th_phase, Jayme Coyle, Albert Folsom, Oscar Amoros Huguet, Patrick Wells, Dan Caffee, Nick Ryhajlo, Sean Dennis, Michael McClellan, Tsee Lee, Robert Hill, Ben Cooper, Matt Parker, Jerrit Erickson, MissyElliottSmith, Stefan Weber, Merri Snaidman, Gabriel Cortez, Marcus Lejon, Todd Dittman, Betsy Radley, Anthony, Philip Slingerland, John Vanek, Eric Vonk, Jon Monteiro, James Bording, Miles Chaston, Jeff Graham, Daisuke Goto, Gregory Kintz, Chandler Bass

Want to follow Eons elsewhere on the internet?

[theonebman]

Well, you see, when two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen one love eachother very much...

[nebulan]

Oceans were different in the past? Based on what I've learned from Eons, the oceans at times have been: green, purple, or covered in ice

[sds]

Brings the phrase “squeezing water from a stone” to a whole new meaning

[Peenyouwass]

Whoa whoa WHOA, how am I just now finding out that most of Earth's water is locked in rock, and up to 18 fricking times the amount in the oceans? Holy crap, I thought I knew stuff about stuff but I am humbled. This video also finally made me fully understand how impacts brought so much water to Earth, the key piece of information I was missing is that the Oxygen was already there! Big thank you for this one, Eons, love u

[baystated]

This is the best Earth Water story that I have ever watched, even from cinematic space documentary series and cable channel productions. Other documentaries about the origin of water have a feel that the film makers didn't understand the details, and so skipped over most of it. Eons talks about the early sun, gravity, heat, pressure, MINERALS, time limits, and most importantly the acknowledgment that billions of years have affected the evidence left for us to study today.

[otterspotter]

It's been a unique frustration of mine, always hearing that "Earth's water came from space, " but never with a reason provided. THIS was the explanation I have literally been waiting many years to hear. Okay, THIS makes sense to me now. This is such a great video.

[ChrisLee-sycly]

The more you learn about how the earth formed it just feels seems more and more improbable. The fact that we exist means these series of improbable events did happen. But the more improbable we find it to be the less likely that complex life is common outside of the solar system. It will be truly fascinating to learn of another life form one day and how they formed.

[DrummerDaddio]

Learning about the history of this planet, and understanding how at any point things could have taken a different trajectory, makes me so grateful to exist. It's like anti- nihilism. We are so fortunate to exist and blessed to be able to experience life on this miracle planet. We aren't just some insignificant specks in the middle of this vast, uncaring universe. We are exceptional through and through. I love this channel!

[gee]

I love that we are still learning things. I grew up on Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Being reminded that we know so much that he didn't when he made it is so awe inspiring and humbling.

[babydollface]

This video actually has a lot of information I had never been exposed to before! Thank you!

[t.augustusromer]

This makes more sense to me than any other water origin explanation. THANK YOU!!

[KippiExplainsStuff]

i absolutely love Kalie's presentation style. also the self deprecating humor at the end - loved it

[jaydonbooth]

This felt like watching a PBS Space Time episode. Very interesting, I've wondered about water origins quite a bit lately when it's mentioned in other videos I watch but none of those have dived into it like Eons.

[Roberto-REME]

Great video production and narration. Well done!

[madedgar]

A new PBS Eons episode is like a cup of delicious hot tea on a cold September morning

[LP-bivc]

Love, love, love this channel! Thanks for all your hard work. PBS is truly a national treasure.

[ksoss]

I have a hard time believing the accuracy of these videos that go back millions of years ago...

[donbucher]

As a chemistry/earth science teacher, I must say this video really hit home. Every kid does the decomposition of copper sulfate pentahydrate in chemistry. It’s an extra added kick to add that this is how Earth got most of its water!

[ancestralworm]

"Space dust and sky pebbles." I experimented with some of that in the 90s.

[VoidHalo]

Fun fact: you make new water every time you run your car. Water vapor is a big portion of car exhaust, among other things. Even you generate water just from your metabolism. Hence the water vapor in your breath. It's the exact same process that happens when you run a car, or burn something, a redox reaction. So your metabolism produces the same general products as burning something. Wood and gasoline have other stuff in them so they will produce other products, but generally speaking, it all makes water.