Did Comets Contain Key Ingredients For Life On Earth?

ScienceDaily ^ | April 29, 2009 | Adapted from materials provided by Tel Aviv University

[SunkenCiv]

While investigating the chemical make-up of comets, Prof. Akiva Bar-Nun of the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences at Tel Aviv University found they were the source of missing ingredients needed for life in Earth's ancient primordial soup. "When comets slammed into the Earth through the atmosphere about four billion years ago, they delivered a payload of organic materials to the young Earth, adding materials that combined with Earth's own large reservoir of organics and led to the emergence of life," says Prof. Bar-Nun.

[BroJoeK]

"What is truly remarkable is that it is easy for such persons to accept a quantum fluctuation in whatever producing an entire universe involving superluminal expansion yet those same people probably laugh at the thought of a few fish and loaves coming from fewer fish and loaves."

Here's what's "truly remarkable": how could ANYONE ever imagine that whatever manner the Universe, the Earth and life developed or evolved, that it was NOT under the absolute control of God, from the first moment to the last.

Is that too many negatives? Here, I'll straighten it out: However it happened scientifically, God is there from the beginning to the end. Clear enough?

[AndrewC]

God is there from the beginning to the end.

Exactly!! God is timeless, the Alpha and the Omega.

[SunkenCiv]

It was addressed to me, so it was a reasonable conclusion.

[SunkenCiv]

Here’s what’s not all that hard to understand — this story doesn’t say anything one way or the other about the existence of any deity, and furthermore, this is in Chat, not in Religion.

[airborne]

My apologies.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[airborne]

Not trying to make excuses, but the Penguins had just gotten their butts whipped, and I was in a bad mood.

Note to self: avoid posting after a bad playoff loss!

[colorado tanker]

I wish this guy had more than a simulation to base this on. Clearly, though, we got a lot from comets. One theory is the earth got it's water from comet bombardment. I'm sure we got a lot, but there's really a lot of water on earth.

[SunkenCiv]

Yeah, there’s a topic around here about that I think... [sound of some drawers opening and closing), ah here we go:

Small Comets and Our Origins
University of Iowa | circa 1999 | Louis A. Frank
Posted on 10/19/2004 11:13:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/1250694/posts

[wildbill]

“... they delivered a payload of organic materials to the young Earth, adding materials that combined with Earth’s own large reservoir of organics and led to the emergence of life,” says Prof. Bar-Nun.

Comets had duct tape? Who knew.

[colorado tanker]

This is a narrative of an intense debate about the findings of a startlingly large influx of small comets into our atmosphere. This debate is now thirteen years old and is characterized by numerous emotional and intellectual statements to be found in both the scientific literature and the popular press. If the small comets exist, then fundamentally new insight into such questions as the origins of our oceans, of the influx of organic material from space, and, indeed, of our own origins is gained. The scientific debate is very much alive.

There is nothing greatly objectionable about the presence of small comets or to the above impact scenario. The objections are directed toward the numbers, the numbers of such objects required to explain the yearly rates of atmospheric holes. A yearly rate of 1 to 10 events in our atmosphere would be generally accepted by the scientific community, 10 to 100 events might be forgiven, but a thousand such impacts raise considerable outcries on the basis of "current wisdom". The proposed rate of 10 million small comets impacting our atmosphere each year was generally greeted with scorn and ridicule. Remarkably, at this rate over the age of Earth, the small comets can provide enough water to fill our oceans.

Interesting stuff.

[SunkenCiv]

You don’t think we *invented* duct tape, do ya? ;’)