In a groundbreaking announcement, scientists at the University of Washington’s Theodor Jacobsen Observatory report that outer space appears to be nothing but small beads of Dihydrogen monoxide, the scientific term for water.
“Everywhere we look with our telescopes, it’s literally just large clouds of the stuff,” exclaimed Dr. Caroline Herschel at a panel presentation to the American Astronomical Society.
The discovery is particularly surprising given the Jacobsen Observatory’s reliance on a 126-year old, six-inch refracting telescope mostly used during UW’s academic year from September to late June.
“It is a little strange that our findings are so consistent at Jacobsen and yet we’re the first in the world to discover this,” Dr. Herschel explained. “Even two other telescopes UW operates at Manastash Ridge 100 miles East of Seattle and Apache Point in central New Mexico have never detected what we’re seeing here.”
Ph.D candidate Lars Larson says it’s just a case of something hiding in plain sight.
“I have to laugh when I read all these journal articles debating whether there could be water on Mars,” said Larson. “I want to scream, ‘Look up above you — it’s like one giant cloud that never goes away and we’re all living in it!”
