There is some icy frost on the moon, and scientists believe there might be substantial liquid water under the lunar surface. Where did it come from? It could have come from the impact of comets and asteroids, but there's another possibility, one that would hold a lot more water, so to speak. It could have been spewed onto the moon from earth. Sure, earth is 240,000 miles away from the moon, give or take, but some very large forces are at work.
The earth has a magnetic field around it, which is affected by solar winds, resulting in a teardrop-shaped magnetosphere. The "tail" of this magnetosphere is long enough so that the moon will pass through it. Hydrogen and oxygen ions from the earth are contained in the magnetosphere, and when the moon gets smacked by its tail, the ions become part of the moon. Over 3.5 billion years, that could mean a good amount of water. This is all spelled out in greater details at ScienceAlert. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: NASA)
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