Interstellar objects spread life from Earth into the universe

Along with the discovery of celestial objects from a distant universe, panspermians (the theory that life exists throughout the universe) began to find ways to prove that interstellar objects could be dispersed. life from the Earth out across the Milky Way.

Traditional altruism theory hypothesizes that the collision of a large celestial body with the planet could lead to the release of matter into outer space outside the planet's gravitational field or even the star.

However, the planet's debris is very small, the microorganisms present on it completely lose their ability to protect against dangerous cosmic radiation. Moreover, the object must hit the planet at a sufficiently high velocity, so that the number of matter fired can escape the gravitational field of the star and the host star.

Oumuamua interstellar object

Astronomers Amir Siraj and Abraham Loeb of Harvard University (USA) decided to check whether the release of microorganisms from the Earth's atmosphere is feasible. According to the results of the study, the microorganisms can stay at an altitude of 77km above the ground.

Siraj and Loeb focus on interstellar objects like Oumuamua or comet Borisov. These cosmic objects, when approached at a distance from the Earth, can 'take' microorganisms from the Earth and spread them on planets other than the Solar System.

The scientists assessed the Earth's atmospheric resistance to the orbit of interstellar objects and the effect of a phenomenon called gravitational support (changing the direction of flight and velocity using the planet's gravitational field). or other large bodies).

As a result, scientists have determined the size and energy of celestial bodies capable of transporting microorganisms onto other planets or planetary systems. They then estimated the number of times the celestial bodies o 'took microorganisms from the Earth' , counting from the time life appeared on our planet.

Studies show that, over a period of 4.54 billion years, there are up to 10 stars. Long-period brooms and up to 50 interstellar objects can 'take' bacteria from Earth's atmosphere. Moreover, if it is assumed that microorganisms can appear above 100 km above the ground, the number of such events is 100,000 times.

Scientists think that life can also exist in other planetary systems, other than the Solar System. They also do not exclude the possibility that life on Earth can be ' imported' from other places, billions of years ago, also thanks to interstellar objects.

1. The first interstellar object in the solar system 4.5 billion years
2. The interstellar object resembles a cigarette 'Oumuamua is considered a comet