Re:Rosetta Probe Discovers Organic Molecules on Comet
by gus_massa on Tuesday November 18, 2014 @03:44PM
(#8626222)
The aminoacids (and even more complex molecules) can be formed without life when the UV-rays hit simpler molecules and they rearrange "randomly".
For example, you can read:
In dirty ice like comets: http://www.astrochem.org/sci/Amino_Acids.php
In interestelar clouds: http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2003/aug/11/amino-a...
Re:Rosetta Probe Discovers Organic Molecules on Comet
by fsiefken on Tuesday November 18, 2014 @02:01PM
(#8625626)
Glycine has been found on comet Wild 2, so chances are good Philae found amino acids.
Re:Rosetta Probe Discovers Organic Molecules on Comet
by kileywm on Tuesday November 18, 2014 @01:59PM
(#8625617)
It would have interesting implications if it was produced by microorganisms. I don't know enough to comment further, but I'm guessing that's what the article was suggesting.
Re:Rosetta Probe Discovers Organic Molecules on Comet
by fsloth on Wednesday November 19, 2014 @01:39AM
(#8628595)
Organic compounds are just molecules that have carbon atoms in them. You don't need anything that is 'living' to produce them.
All life we have discovered on earth is based on carbon. So, finding these building blocks of life in space is interesting because it is solid proof you don't need to be on earth to produce them (something that might or might not seem intuitively obvious but in science you can't use intuition as proof, only as a guide). However, while making it a tiny bit more likely, it does not mean anything is alive out there.
I feel like there is a big difference between finding methane and finding amino acids on the comet. Surely, finding methane isn't all that interesting.