© Don Davis/NASAMeteorite impacts during Earth's early history may have played a pivotal role in kick-starting life.
While space rocks hurtling in from space threaten to deal modern life a mortal blow, meteorite impacts during Earth's early history may have played a pivotal role in kick-starting life on the planet.
Exactly how and when organic molecules appeared in abundance on the young Earth, leading to the origin of life about 4 billion years ago, has been unclear. But new research suggests that meteor impacts could have created amino acids, the building blocks of life.
Yoshihiro Furukawa at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, and colleagues used a high-velocity propellant gun to simulate the impacts of ordinary carbon-containing chondrite meteorites - the most common type of meteorite - into the early ocean. Afterwards, they recovered a variety of organic molecules, including fatty acids, amines, and an amino acid.
Comment: Once again, researcher shy away from mentioning the fact that comets are just as much a threat of colliding with Earth as an asteroid is.
Also, the spectacular meteorite siting across Western Canada was never picked up on their Spaceguard telescopes. Or at least we were never warned. So, amid all of their excitement to having spotted one of many meteorites that have entered the earth's atmosphere, their success rate is severely lacking.
Do not depend on the government run space agencies to tell us of a real threat from above. It all depends on the PTB's agenda on what we are told about anything.