Scientists have finally solved a long-standing mystery in space science. They have discovered why carbon-rich asteroids, commonly found in space, rarely make it to the surface of Earth.
The findings published in the journal Natural Astronomy have shed light on the formation of the solar system and how life’s building blocks first arrived on Earth.
While carbon-rich asteroids are abundant throughout the solar system, they only make up about 4% of the meteors that actually reach Earth’s surface, contradicting existing models.
New research suggests that these missing asteroids may be disintegrating before they enter our atmosphere.
Dr. Hadrien Devillepoix, a researcher at Curtin University, explained, “These asteroids are breaking apart due to repeated heating as they pass near the sun, rather than being destroyed by air resistance.”
By analyzing thousands of meteor trajectories, the study found that carbon-rich asteroids are more likely to break apart after multiple encounters with the sun, with only a small fraction making it through our atmosphere.
These findings are crucial in understanding the origins of life as carbon-rich asteroids contain important chemical components, such as water, organic molecules, and amino acids.
Dr. Patrick Schauber from the Paris Observatory added, “Studying these asteroids gives us insight into the early solar system and how life’s building blocks reached Earth.”
Understanding why these asteroids disintegrate before reaching us could help scientists better understand the history of our solar system and how Earth became habitable.
Read more:
Source: www.sciencefocus.com