Comets Hitting Planets May Help Build Life, Study Finds
Icy comets colliding with a planet can generate amino acids- the building blocks of life, according to a new study. Researchers found that amino acids can be produced even when rocky meteorites hit an icy planet. The findings may help explain the origins of life on earth.
The study team included researchers at Imperial College London, the University of Kent and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. To understand the effect of a comet hitting a planet, they recreated the impact by firing projectiles through a large high speed gun. The gun used compressed gas to shoot projectiles at speeds of 7.15 kilometers per second into targets. The targets were icy mixtures that had compounds similar to those found on comets.
Researchers found that the projectiles created amino acids such as glycine and D-and L-alanine. The study shows that amino acids can be produced when icy comets hit planets as the impact of the comet generates molecules. The heat from the impact transforms these molecules into amino acids.
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