SENANDIKA.REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The origin of life on Earth is one of the greatest scientific mysteries in the universe. Currently, there are two prevailing theories about how this happened on Earth, namely that the ingredients for life emerged from the primordial soup on the planet, or that the molecules necessary for life on Earth came from elsewhere in the cosmos.
Taking the latter theory into account, a team of scientists has discovered a model for this delivery and how it could occur on planets outside the solar system.
In a paper published Nov. 14 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A, the authors explain how “bouncing” comets can distribute raw materials for life, called prebiotic molecules, throughout star systems. The team focused on simulating rocky exoplanets orbiting sun-sized stars.
“It is possible that the molecules that caused life on Earth came from comets,” said Richard Anslow, an astronomer at the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy, in a statement, quoted from Live Science, Saturday (18/11/2023).
So the same is true for other planets in the galaxy. In recent decades, astronomers have proven that some comets and asteroids contain prebiotic molecules, including amino acids, hydrogen cyanide, and vitamins, such as vitamin B3. Although none of these organic compounds can form life, they are all essential to life as we know it.
The researchers discovered that comets can indeed deliver intact prebiotic molecules directly to planets, but only under certain conditions. First, the comet must be moving relatively slowly at or below a speed of 9 miles per second (15 kilometers per second).
Otherwise, the heat that would be encountered when entering the planet’s atmosphere would burn the fine organic molecules instantly. For comparison, NASA estimates Halley’s Comet was moving at about 34 miles per second, or 55 km per second, when it last approached the sun, in 1986.
2023-11-18 15:27:00
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