Stories tagged meteorites
Where are you going?: I'm going home.
Courtesy MilaNew tests performed on a meteorite found in Australia suggest that life on earth could have had its start in space; it’s possible that the first components of self-replicating genetic material came from outer space.
This particular meteorite only struck Earth about 40 years ago, but new studies confirm that the molecules uracil and xanthine (which are found in our RNA) were present in the meteoritic fragments before human contamination.
Uracil and xanthine are “nucleobases,” and play an important role in the replication of DNA. Some have argued that these molecules could have originally formed on Earth, but these researchers claim that the atmospheric conditions on the planet at the time the first organic molecules are thought to have appeared would have prohibited a terrestrial origin. Going even further, they state that it’s possible—assuming that there are all these vital molecules floating out there on meteors—that life, or at least the key components for life (a big difference I suppose), could be widespread in the universe.
I prefer extraterrestrial life delivery by spaceship, but I guess I’ll take what I can get. Wild.
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A meteor streaking across the night sky: Photo by Jeff Smallwood at flickr.com.
The Aquarid meteor shower is due to reach its peak this weekend. Clear skies and warm spring temperatures in many parts of the country will make this the first good meteor viewing of the year. The shower is due to peak at 7 am Eastern time on the 5th with meteors falling at a rate of about one per minute. But you can go out any night this weekend after midnight and look low in the eastern sky – you may catch a few falling stars to put in your pocket and save for a rainy day.
You can learn more about meteor showers here.
Caroline Smith and Gretchen Benedix from the Natural History Museum in London are trekking around the Nullabor Desert in western Australia looking meteorites. Follow along on their meteorite blog.
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