Life ingredients probably didnt ride in on a comet, new study shows
Where did life on Earth come from? A new study says comets weren't likely the source and suggests asteroids or Earth itself.
A new study suggests that comets likely did not deliver the life-sustaining ingredients to Earth billions of years ago, challenging a widely accepted theory. Researchers from the University of Cambridge used computer simulations to explore the impact of comets on Earth's atmosphere and gravity's effect on their movements. They focused on hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a simple yet crucial molecule commonly found in comets.
The findings indicate that the intense heat generated during a comet's impact would have vaporized most of these molecules, making it unlikely for them to reach Earth in large quantities. Even if HCN managed to survive, its quantity would not have been sufficient to support the formation of life. Lead researcher Richard Anslow noted that such an occurrence would be incredibly rare, possibly one in a million.
While comets have been considered a possible source of life's building blocks, their inability to survive Earth's atmosphere and the massive collisions with asteroids suggest that life may have originated on Earth itself or through other celestial bodies with more favorable conditions.
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