Dawn Of Earth

Does life on earth owe its existence to an asteroid? Although one of the most famous associations we have with asteroids is possibly wiping dinosaurs off the face of the earth, it’s possible that life on earth owes its genesis to asteroid impacts billions of years ago. Dawn of Earth is a video by Louie that shows the possibilities of life’s origins. 

 

The Impact Origin Hypothesis

One of the leading explanations for biogenesis is the Impact Origin of Life Hypothesis, which states that the pummeling of impacts Earth received in its early days created conditions on the subsurface that allowed early organisms to thrive. 

 

It’s possible that the first forms of life on earth were thermophiles, which live in extremely hot environments, like those possibly formed by early asteroid impacts. Another key to the hypothesis is that an immense amount of energy is needed for biochemical reactions, relative to prebiotic chemistry. It’s plausible that asteroid impacts, which can release billions of times the amount of energy released in an atomic bomb detonation.

 

The Asteroid As An Arc

In addition, some thinkers have proposed that an asteroid that impacted with earth in its early years could have actually carried lifeforms or the compounds necessary for life on it, thus seeding the Earth. While it’s not outside the realm of possibility, it’s more difficult to prove this theory scientifically.

Let us know what you thought of dawn of earth!

 

More Content