By Belize Live News Staff: Belize sits just south of one of the most famous impact sites on Earth. About 66 million years ago, an asteroid struck the Yucatán Peninsula, creating the Chicxulub crater and wiping out the dinosaurs.
That event is a powerful reminder of how destructive space impacts can be. Now, a new study suggests that same destructive force may have stopped comets from bringing life to Earth billions of years earlier.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge used simulations to test the long standing theory that comets carried the raw ingredients for life to our planet. They found that comets usually struck Earth at such high speeds that the key molecules they carried were destroyed on impact.
Even if a comet did deliver some material intact, it would have needed to land in a perfect spot with liquid water and other chemicals already present. If it landed in the ocean, the material would have quickly dissolved.
So where did life’s building blocks come from? Scientists say asteroids, which hit Earth more slowly and more often, are a strong possibility. Recent samples from asteroids Bennu and Ryugu contained most of the amino acids used to build proteins. Another theory is that early Earth produced those molecules on its own.
The study also raised an interesting idea about Mars. Because Mars is smaller and farther from the sun, comets would have hit it more slowly, meaning more organic material may have survived there.
For Belizeans who enjoy stargazing from places like the Mountain Pine Ridge or the cayes, it adds a new layer of wonder to the night sky.
