The possibility of life existing on other planets has fascinated scientists for many years. Since the 1990s, thousands of exoplanets have been discovered by astronomers, who continue to search for signs of life. One way they are exploring this possibility is by studying comets, which are good candidates for transporting life’s important molecules to Earth from elsewhere in the universe.
In recent research, scientists at Cantabrigian have shown that certain types of comets could deliver the building blocks of life to the surface of a planet. However, they warn that the comet must slow down before it reaches the exoplanet’s atmosphere, as the molecules are destroyed if it travels too fast. The researchers have classified close planetary communities as “pea pod”-like because they orbit their parent star in a dense cluster, allowing a slow-moving comet to access their surfaces.
Some comets and asteroids have been found to contain molecular foundations to life, including amino acids and vitamins. These raw materials have become better known in recent years, providing scientists with new insights into how life might exist beyond Earth. Cantabrigian astronomer’s study was published in the science magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
The search for signs of extraterrestrial life continues to captivate scientists and researchers around the world. With new discoveries and technologies being developed all the time, it is only a matter of time before we uncover definitive evidence about whether or not we are alone in the universe.