Abstract It now appears that the chemical evolution of the pre-solar system interstellar dust ensures that a major fraction of comets is in the form of complex organic molecules at least partially of a prebiotic nature and that the submicron interstellar dust preserves its chemical integrity as a result of forming a very tenuous low density comet structure whose solid matter occupies of the total volume. This low density micro structure further provides a physical basis for comets bringing a significant fraction of the original interstellar organic molecules to the earth unmodified by the impact event. Finally, the evidence for a large number of comet collisions with the early earth ensured that the major organic molecular budget on the earth's surface was “continuously” supplied along with water well before 3.8 billion years ago which is the earliest date for life.
Synthesis of organic compounds in interstellar dust and their transport to earth via comets
Advances in Space Research ; 9 , 6 ; 15-23
1989-01-01
9 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Tracking the Organic Refractory Component from Interstellar Dust to Comets
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1999
|British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997
|Interstellar nomads: The problem of detecting comets
NTRS | 1993
|INTERSTELLAR NOMADS: THE PROBLEM OF DETECTING COMETS
Online Contents | 1993
|