(ORDO NEWS) — A Japanese scientist suggested trying to focus on studying cosmic dust to search for life beyond Earth.
Professor Tomonori Totani, an astrobiologist at the University of Tokyo, writes that studying exoplanets that are millions of miles away from us is an extremely difficult task.
In this regard, it is possible to change the object of study itself – to take cosmic dust that has already settled on Earth. It can be found in the ice sheet at the South and North Poles, or probably in the atmosphere.
When large asteroids collide, they eject dust from their surface into space, which may contain dead or even fossilized microorganisms.
Larger particles may fall into the permanent orbits of nearby planets or stars, but other fragments are too small to deposit signs of life that scientists can then detect.
The optimal particle size for researchers in space dust is about one micron. This length is sufficient to contain samples of unicellular organisms.
What’s more, one-micron particles are also small enough to escape the gravitational pull of their parent cosmic bodies and neighboring stars.
Under the right conditions, they can reach planets as far away as Earth fairly quickly.
According to Professor Totani’s calculations, about 100,000 such particles fall to Earth every year.
He believes that cosmic dust can hide traces of life that originated on other planets, and that it can be used to analyze biosignatures.
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