The iconic comet upon which the spacecraftPhilaedramaticallylandedlast class , 67P / C - G , has been legion to a wealth of surprises for astronomers on Earth . Its unusual pattern , its varying mineral composition , and the tumble crater over its surface , which inculpate the existence of ice water , to name a few . But more recently , there have been buzzworthy claims that there could be microbic life on the comet .
There are two main reasons for this sensational assertion . Firstly , the comet has some regions of constitutional - racy , coal - dark crust . One potential account for this substance could be the presence of microorganisms below the frozen surface of the comet . The second reason is that the spacecraft orbiting the comet , Rosetta , could have pick up particle from the comet that resemble viral particles . Both of these justifications could betoken to life on the comet . However , there are a mint of other much more likely explanation .
For microbes to be responsible for for the dark material found on the comet , they would take to be able to survive in some exceedingly harsh conditions . All of the water on the comet is solid water ice or vapor , and the average surface temperature is–70oC(–94oF ) . It would take some very hardy microbes to survive on this stop dead space careen .
Vexingly , Philae really has no way of directly detecting the presence of life on the comet . When Philae was being built , it was believe unconvincing that life would ever exist on the comet . As a answer , no equipment was include to notice the symptoms of life .
There are plenty of scientists who are skeptical about the presence of foreign microbes on the comet . Rosetta researcherDennis Bodewits , from theUniversity of Maryland , told IFLScience that there was no fortune that aliveness could be found on the comet . However , he take down that that build blocks for life may be present on the comet .
" Comets do have complex mote , and it ’s been suggested that comet may have either bring in water or complex molecules to Earth .
" Also , in the cloud of gas around it you have a muckle of interesting chemical science survive on . " This could explain the front of virus - comparable corpuscle detect by Rosetta in the dust around the comet .
So , there ’s no tough grounds of living microbes on the comet , and what ’s more , Philae ’s equipment is incompetent of reassert any flimsy mark of such life anyway . The possibleness of lifetime on the comet will be presented and discuss at theRoyal Astronomical Society ’s National Astronomy Meetingthis week . There can be no conclusive grounds anytime shortly , so until then scientists can only speculate .
[ H / T : The Guardian ]
