Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Organic Molecules Found on 67P




After analyzing data from Philae, scientists at the European Space Agency have detected what appears to be organic molecules on the coment 67P or Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This is a good sign because organic molecules are part of the building block of carbon based life.  However. this doesn't mean that Philae found life there or anything similar.

An organic molecule has one or more carbon atoms within its structure. While carbon atoms are necessary for life as we know it, many more organic molecules and compounds must be present in order to be considered life.  Methane is an example of an organic compound.  It has several hydrogen atoms that are attached to a carbon atom.  Most likely the molecules detected are methane or methanol.  If so, then these compounds would not have any relevance on how life formed on Earth. A more significant find would be that of amino acids.

Nevertheless, the search continues on. Many scientists theorize that comets brought to Earth the compounds needed to allow life to evolve and form in the complex manner that it exists today.  So far we know that comet 67p is mostly ice with a cover of dust and rock material similar to that of sandstone. Due to the extreme low temperature of the comet in the outer solar system, the ice is extremely solid.







Source:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30097648

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/11/18/no-its-not-a-big-deal-that-philae-found-organic-molecules-on-a-comet/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/why-you-shouldnt-get-too-excited-philae-organic-molecules-comet-rosetta-17441477  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading and for your comment. All comments are subject to approval. They must be free of vulgarity, ad hominem and must be relevant to the blog posting subject matter.

Labels

Catholic Church (754) God (405) Atheism (343) Jesus (337) Bible (307) Jesus Christ (281) Pope Francis (229) Atheist (228) Liturgy of the Word (192) Science (152) LGBT (146) Christianity (139) Pope Benedict XVI (80) Rosa Rubicondior (79) Gay (78) Abortion (75) Prayer (65) President Obama (57) Physics (53) Philosophy (52) Liturgy (51) Christian (50) Vatican (50) Blessed Virgin Mary (43) Christmas (43) Psychology (41) New York City (40) Holy Eucharist (36) Politics (34) Women (34) Biology (31) Supreme Court (30) Baseball (29) Religious Freedom (27) NYPD (26) Traditionalists (24) priests (24) Space (23) Pope John Paul II (22) Health (21) Racism (21) Evil (20) First Amendment (19) Pro Abortion (19) Protestant (19) Theology (19) Christ (18) Astrophysics (17) Child Abuse (17) Death (17) Evangelization (17) Illegal Immigrants (17) Pro Choice (17) Apologetics (16) Donald Trump (16) Police (16) Priesthood (16) Pedophilia (15) Marriage (14) Vatican II (14) Divine Mercy (12) Blog (11) Eucharist (11) Autism (10) Gospel (10) Jewish (10) Morality (10) Muslims (10) Poverty (10) September 11 (10) Easter Sunday (9) Gender Theory (9) academia (9) Human Rights (8) Pentecostals (8) Personhood (8) Sacraments (8) Big Bang Theory (7) CUNY (7) Cognitive Psychology (7) Condoms (7) David Viviano (7) Ellif_dwulfe (7) Evidence (7) Barack Obama (6) Hell (6) Hispanics (6) Holy Trinity (6) Humanism (6) NY Yankees (6) Spiritual Life (6) Babies (5) Cyber Bullying (5) Gender Dysphoria Disorder (5) Massimo Pigliucci (5) Podcast (5) Pope Pius XII (5) The Walking Dead (5) Angels (4) Donations (4) Ephebophilia (4) Pope Paul VI (4) Catholic Bloggers (3) Death penalty (3) Evangelicals (3) Pluto (3) Pope John XXIII (3) Baby Jesus (2) Dan Arel (2) Eastern Orthodox (2) Encyclical (2) Founding Fathers (2) Freeatheism (2) Oxfam (2) Penn Jillette (2) Pew Research Center (2) Plenary Indulgence (2) Cursillo (1) Dan Savage (1) Divine Providence (1) Fear The Walking Dead (1) Pentecostales (1)