Re:Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 l...
by dekhn on Wednesday February 22, 2017 @02:43PM
(#13708540)
Short answer: almost certainly yes, although i presume this is an improbable event.
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Re:Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 l...
by ConceptJunkie on Wednesday February 22, 2017 @05:27PM
(#13709828)
It's not that improbable. They've found meteorites on Earth that have been identified as having come from Mars based on their mineral contents.
Re:Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 l...
by dekhn on Wednesday February 22, 2017 @06:00PM
(#13710075)
Sure, I was referring to the part where the microbe survives the initial blast, the passage through space, reentry, and landing, and happens to land in a spot where it can survive.
Re:Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 l...
by sheeshkebab on Thursday February 23, 2017 @01:01AM
(#13711957)
According to some research, microbes survival in meteorites is very likely (if they exist)
Re:Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 l...
by dekhn on Thursday February 23, 2017 @09:42AM
(#13714181)
I know enough biology to be skeptical of papers like that (although, I admit I was skeptical when papers from the 50s predicted interplanetary mass transport, and didn't change my mind until we found Martian meteorites). I'd like to see actual evidence of this.
I actually think the rock getting into space with the microbe embedded in it is not that unlikely (many rocks in the earth are laced with bacteria), nor the space transport. I think the excessive heat of rentry, the force of impact, and the difference in target ecosystems are what are going to kill the microbes.