VERIFIED FACT

Some of Earth's water is older than the Sun.

Why this sounds fake

We naturally assume the Sun existed before everything else in the Solar System, including the water on Earth.

Water feels like something that belongs to Earth, but some of it appears to have a much older origin story. Research on water chemistry in the Solar System indicates that not all of today's water formed locally after the Sun was born. Some water molecules likely survived from the cold interstellar cloud that existed before the Solar System formed. That means part of Earth's water story may predate the Sun itself. The same substance in oceans and glasses can carry a history older than the star it now orbits. That makes ordinary water feel cosmic.

The Surprise

Some of the water in your glass is older than the Sun itself.

Timeline showing interstellar ice forming more than 4.6 billion years ago in the molecular cloud, the Sun igniting ~4.6 billion years ago, Earth forming 4.54 billion years ago, and today. Some water predates the Sun.
Ice >4.6 billion yrs. Sun 4.6 billion yrs. Earth 4.54 billion yrs.

1 discovery explored

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hidden age The oldest known piece of Earth is a tiny zircon crystal. Open Fact

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