• First-Ever Discovery: Complex Organic Molecules Found on Rosetta's Comet
    41 replies, posted
[quote]Over the past few months, the ESA’s Rosetta orbiter has been feeding us valuable data on comets: where they come from, what they’re made of, how they work, and so on. But its time is nearly at an end, with a kamikaze dive towards the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko scheduled for later this month. But just before it dies, it has one more surprise up its sleeve. The scientists behind Rosetta report that the probe has found complex, solid organic matter in the dust particles of the comet, the kind we’ve never expected to find.[/quote] Exciting stuff. This supports the theory that organic compounds, or even life as we know it, came from off-planet. Source: [URL]http://futurism.com/first-ever-discovery-complex-organic-molecules-found-on-rosettas-comet/[/URL] Alternate source/more in-depth: [URL]http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/28397/20160909/rosetta-discovered-solid-organic-matter-on-comets-surface-after-locating-lost-lander.htm[/URL] [I][B]Edited[/B][/I] Adding the ESA article for authentic source: [url]http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/07/rosetta-catches-dusty-organics/[/url]
Forgot the link, bud EDIT: Awesome, thanks! :D
[QUOTE=GunFox;51054294]Forgot the link, bud[/QUOTE] Whoops! Threw it up.
[QUOTE=BazzBerry;51054290]Exciting stuff. This supports the theory that organic compounds, or even life as we know it, came from off-planet. Source: [url]http://futurism.com/first-ever-discovery-complex-organic-molecules-found-on-rosettas-comet/[/url] Alternate source/more in-depth: [url]http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/28397/20160909/rosetta-discovered-solid-organic-matter-on-comets-surface-after-locating-lost-lander.htm[/url][/QUOTE] Let's not forget about the theory that life as we know it is common in the universe and frequently springs up anywhere, from comets to planets.
[QUOTE=Drury;51054310]Let's not forget about the theory that life as we know it is common in the universe and frequently springs up anywhere, from comets to planets.[/QUOTE] What you said there reminded me of an article I read the other day regarding the Fermi Paradox. It's a long read, but well worth it. [url]http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html[/url]
The fact that they can't even come up with a formula for the molecules yet is very intriguing. I wish we could see images of the molecules
So this means the panspermia theory is all but confirmed at this point? Or the primordial soup is still the more likely origin of life on Earth?
[QUOTE=patrioticturtle;51054345]So this means the panspermia theory is all but confirmed at this point? Or the primordial soup is still the more likely origin of life on Earth?[/QUOTE] Doesn't organic molecule just imply carbon ie oil or natural gas or something more complex like proteins etc Unless they find amino acids then its not mega news even then it wouldn't be unprecedented.
[QUOTE=patrioticturtle;51054345]So this means the panspermia theory is all but confirmed at this point? Or the primordial soup is still the more likely origin of life on Earth?[/QUOTE] No? It just proves panspermia is a possibility.
Basically, they detected carbon-containing material in the cometary dust. The probe analysed the dust particles using mass spectrometry, and the spectra suggest that most of the carbon is bound in high-molecular weight organic material. This material is most similar to insoluble organic matter (IOM) that is found in carbonaceous chondrites, a class of meteorites that are high in carbon content. The major difference is that the stuff in the cometary dust has a higher hydrogen content than IOM. In addition, there is a notable lack of spectral signatures that suggest the presence of lower-molecular weight organic compounds like amino acids, aliphatic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Low-molecular weight organic compounds [i]have[/i] been detected in the gas surrounding the comet, and these compounds arise from photolytic and/or radiolytic processes (basically, light or radiation breaks down the high-molecular weight compounds and turns them into low-molecular weight ones). However, intermediate compounds have not been detected from this comet, which suggests that the high-molecular weight stuff and the low-molecular weight stuff have different origins. The IOM found in carbonaceous chondrites has undergone various processes which reduce their hydrogen content. The higher hydrogen content of the organic material from the cometary dust indicates that it is more primitive than the IOM since it hasn't undergone these processes. If you understand a bit of analytical chemistry, the [url="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature19320.html"]paper itself[/url] (paywalled) is a fairly easy read.
[QUOTE=Potus;51054330]The fact that they can't even come up with a formula for the molecules yet is very intriguing. I wish we could see images of the molecules[/QUOTE] If you mean the matter itself, there are these images in one of the soruces: [img]http://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/image_4173-Rosetta-Organic-Matter.jpg[/img]
If we really did come off planet, it makes me wonder what's our original homeworld and what exactly happened to it that catapulted a comet at us with some of the organic stuff on it?
[QUOTE=GlebGuy;51056719]If we really did come off planet, it makes me wonder what's our original homeworld and what exactly happened to it that catapulted a comet at us with some of the organic stuff on it?[/QUOTE] maybe that can be the meaning in life like an orphan trying to find out who their birth parents were but on a species-wide scale
I think a few things came from off planet at different times, personally. There's no way a house fly and a human came from the same place. One of us are alien to this world. Or both
Also possible that the alien DNA mingled with the native DNA to produce what there is now.
[QUOTE=TheTalon;51056749]I think a few things came from off planet at different times, personally. There's no way a house fly and a human came from the same place. One of us are alien to this world. Or both[/QUOTE] Regardless of whether or not life exists or has come from other planets, humans and house flies have a common ancestor.
[QUOTE=TheTalon;51056749]I think a few things came from off planet at different times, personally. There's no way a house fly and a human came from the same place. One of us are alien to this world. Or both[/QUOTE] [i]All[/i] life as we know it relies on the same basic biochemical pathways to function. We all have a common ancestor dating from billions of years ago.
[QUOTE=TheTalon;51056749]I think a few things came from off planet at different times, personally. There's no way a house fly and a human came from the same place. One of us are alien to this world. Or both[/QUOTE] that is incredibly ignorant read up on the evolution of the animalia
[QUOTE=GlebGuy;51056766]Also possible that the alien DNA mingled with the native DNA to produce what there is now.[/QUOTE] DNA is 4 times removed from simple organic molecules in terms of complexity. You need to bring the nitrogenous bases together with deoxyribose/ribose to form nucleosides, then you need to combine those with phosphate to get nucleotides, then you need to combine nucleotides into 3-letter codons that correspond to amino acids, then you need to combine codons together to get coding sequences. Only then can you get DNA that is of biological significance. It's [I]quite[/I] unlikely that a system like that would arise twice independently then commingle later on. It's either entirely alien or entirely terrestrial in origin.
[QUOTE=TheTalon;51056749]I think a few things came from off planet at different times, personally. There's no way a house fly and a human came from the same place. One of us are alien to this world. Or both[/QUOTE] umm... why?
[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;51056793]Regardless of whether or not life exists or has come from other planets, humans and house flies have a common ancestor.[/QUOTE] This fucks with my brain in unimaginable ways Also house flies really got the short end of that deal didn't they
[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51057016]This fucks with my brain in unimaginable ways Also house flies really got the short end of that deal didn't they[/QUOTE] Houseflies and their ancestors have been around for hundreds of millions of years. We've been around for two. I think so far they're winning.
[QUOTE=TheTalon;51056749]There's no way a house fly and a human came from the same place. One of us are alien to this world. Or both[/QUOTE] All lifeforms that we know of on this planet are related to each other in one way or another, it's like a huge family And perhaps, if the panspermia hypothesis is true, it's possible that we have extraterrestrial/solar relatives, as well
[QUOTE=Headhumpy;51056967]DNA is 4 times removed from simple organic molecules in terms of complexity. You need to bring the nitrogenous bases together with deoxyribose/ribose to form nucleosides, then you need to combine those with phosphate to get nucleotides, then you need to combine nucleotides into 3-letter codons that correspond to amino acids, then you need to combine codons together to get coding sequences. Only then can you get DNA that is of biological significance. It's [I]quite[/I] unlikely that a system like that would arise twice independently then commingle later on. It's either entirely alien or entirely terrestrial in origin.[/QUOTE] Well I've learned something today.
[QUOTE=GlebGuy;51056719]If we really did come off planet, it makes me wonder what's our original homeworld and what exactly happened to it that catapulted a comet at us with some of the organic stuff on it?[/QUOTE] That would be kind of fucked up if we did come from off planet Like, the beginning of humanity as we know started with us taking land that wasn't ours. Of course I'm not a scientist or anything so I would could be wrong on that one.
Fucking colonists
I see everyone saying life came from Comets but how did life come to these comets in the first place? Panspermia is a good theory but saying that Earth could only have life because of a comet is a bit cynical.
I don't believe the panspermia theory but of course it's impossible to know at this point in time. I mean - it doesn't explain shit. It just tosses the hot potato to some other source of life, we don't know how that formed. Plus there is already some really good evidence on primordial soup (organic molecules are pretty much confirmed to form in primordial soup) and some good evidence against panspermia (all of that stuff would be destroyed on impact).
[QUOTE=Headhumpy;51057052]Houseflies and their ancestors have been around for hundreds of millions of years. We've been around for two. I think so far they're winning.[/QUOTE] One species smacks and kills the other out of annoyance and the other eats its shit.
I follow Rosetta like a bad smell; surprised this slipped under the radar. As technology becomes more accurate and smaller I am sure we will see organic molecules crop up in even the most extreme environments. Hopefully we can get some sort of submersible to Europa in the next 15years.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.