Did Earth seed life elsewhere...?

[Watcher74]

One thing to keep in mind. Our solar system is an ecosystem. And everything within our solar system has the same basic building blocks. The entire solar system began with one big cloud. Most of it condensed into the sun. The tiny bit left over condensed into asteroids and comets and gas. These asteroids/comets/gas, coalesced into all the planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and dust in our solar system.

The water we drink was once comets. The few comets that are still out there just didn't happen to become part of our oceans. The dirt and rocks we walk on were once asteroids. The few asteroids that are still out there just didn't happen to become part of our planet.

There is nothing inherently dangerous to us on our solar system's asteroids or comets. No more than the water or dirt on our own planet is naturally dangerous to us. We all came from the same cloud. We are all the same "stuff".

Do you think your knee might be dangerous to your ear?

Besides, even if something was so terribly possibly dangerous to Earth life on that comet, it would have infected the Earth when it came down into the atmosphere on reentry. Every human involved could wear all the safety gear they wanted and it wouldn't mean jack cause the stuff would already be floating on the winds that gust all over our planet.

 

[125gJoe]

...
Do you think your knee might be dangerous to your ear?...

No, I don't think so. But, I can be proven that some can lick their elbow!

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Back to outerspace particles.
You do know that we are not limited to just within our solar system. It seems like you have limited the boundaries of Space -- and no one knows the boundaries...

> "Whatever happens to fall to the Earth on its own is one thing. But, when scientists begin extracting 'particles' from outerspace, they should "handle with care"." <

The above statement is all I'm trying to point out. There's no reason to be careless, it doens't take much effort to use some caution.


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[Watcher74]

I have not limited the boundaries of space. I have limited the boundaries of the bodies within our solar system. This includes the comets and asteroids that are in our solar system.

In the "Local Group" there are many galaxies. Ours, the Milky Way, and Andromeda dominate this group. There are so far as many as around 35 minor "satellite" galaxies as well. These galaxies are amazingly far apart. All the other "groups" of galaxies are speeding away from us as the universe expands. But our group is not speeding away from each other.

Even within our single galaxy, the Milky Way, the interaction of two separate solar systems within it are exceedingly rare. For 10-15 billion years all of the material has been grouped up in little patches of enclosed ecosystems. Including the Sol system.

The possibility of a comet or asteroid circling around our solar system that did not form with our solar system is about as likely as me sprouting wings and an elephant trunk forming out of my belly button.

I do not limit space. I greatly limit the fundamental contents of our specific solar system.

 

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Sure we are all made from the same stuff in our solar system, as with everything else, but things have been evolving for billions of years. We may have come from the same particles as the stuff on Mars (for example), but over those billions of years we may have evolved different ways, and now that stuff on "mars" is toxic to us. See where I'm going? Just because we share origins in the same matter doesn't mean it cant be deadly to us.

I agree with Joe, we need to take precaution when tampering with things we find in outer space (just as we need to take precaution tampering with things from deep in the sea or deep in the earth- its unknown to us and it might be a tad dangerous. Its better to be safe than sorry, right?).

I throughly enjoy these topics Joe, space intruigues me so much.


-Diana

 

[125gJoe]

....

I throughly enjoy these topics Joe, space intruigues me so much.


-Diana

Excellent! The unknown can be incredibly interesting!

I'd like to put this "safety issue" out there with another example.

Since it's now known there is water on one of Saturn's moons; would you be the first to drink a 12 ounce glass of it chilled with Earth ice cubes or lukewarm?

Can't wait to see the first scientist to do this. Bet they already have plans to go out there and bottle some up...



http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/moon-water-may-harbour-life/2006/03/10/1141701662103.html


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[Watcher74]

Mars is not toxic to us. The atmosphere is not conducive to what we need to breath. Nor is it as thick as we would prefer. Temperature is not within our comfortable range either. But if you sent a probe to Mars, had it scoop up a pound of dirt and brought it back, there is nothing there that can harm you. I would happily be the first to scoop up a handful of it in my bare hand.

Most of the liquid oceans in our solar system that we know of are made up of liquid natural gas. No that is not healthy for us. But neither is sitting in a garage on Earth with the door down and your car running.

Sit in a tiny air tight room and you will die from carbon poison before you die from lack of oxygen. Yes we need elements at the right levels for us to breath and drink it. But there aren't some magical and lethal elements that have formed out there that would ravage through the population if some humans poked at them without a mask on.

 

[125gJoe]

.... But there aren't some magical and lethal elements that have formed out there that would ravage through the population if some humans poked at them without a mask on.

I don't have a problem with you believing that if you prefer... But, there's no way to prove it, and I will never believe that something in space can never "ravage the human population".


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