Panspermia
Sign in to savethumb |upright=1.3 |Panspermia proposes that organisms such as [[bacteria, complete with their DNA, could be transported by means such as comets through space to planets including Earth.]] Panspermia () is the hypothesis that life exists throughout the universe, distributed by cosmic dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetoids, as well as by spacecraft carrying unintended contamination by microorganisms, known as directed panspermia. The theory argues that life did not originate on Earth, but instead evolved somewhere else and seeded life as we know it.
AI overview
Panspermia is the idea that life didn't start on Earth but was instead brought here by space objects like comets and meteoroids carrying microorganisms such as bacteria. The theory matters because it proposes a completely different explanation for life's origins on our planet than the idea that life began here naturally.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
19 sectionsContents
- History
- Overview
- Core requirements
- Transport vessels
- Varieties of panspermia theory
- Radiopanspermia
- Counterarguments
- Lithopanspermia
- Counterarguments
- Directed panspermia
- Counterarguments
- Origination and distribution of organic molecules: Pseudo-panspermia
- Hoaxes and speculations
- Orgueil meteorite
- Oumuamua
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb |upright=1.3 |Panspermia proposes that organisms such as [[bacteria, complete with their DNA, could be transported by means such as comets through space to planets including Earth.]] Panspermia () is the hypothesis that life exists throughout the universe, distributed by cosmic dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetoids, as well as by spacecraft carrying unintended contamination by microorganisms, known as directed panspermia. The theory argues that life did not originate on Earth, but instead evolved somewhere else and seeded life as we know it.
Panspermia comes in many forms, such as radiopanspermia, lithopanspermia, and directed panspermia. Regardless of its form, the theories generally propose that microbes able to survive in outer space (such as certain types of bacteria or plant spores) can become trapped in debris ejected into space after collisions between planets and small Solar System bodies that harbor life. This debris containing the lifeforms is then transported by meteors between bodies in a planetary system, or even across planetary systems within a galaxy. In this way, panspermia studies concentrate not on how life began but on methods that may distribute it within the Universe. This point is often used as a criticism of the theory.