Abstract
It is generally believed that a comet consists basically of a loose conglomeration of frozen gases with embedded material similar to that found in the carbonaceous chondritic meteorites, and consequently that comets may be nearly pristine samples of the original solar nebula1–5. We show here that thermal processing within comets could have played an important part in determining their present state; in particular, we find that liquid water might have been available in some comets over geologically and biologically significant spans of time. It follows that a cometary origin is not excluded for some thermally metamorphosed meteorites and asteroids, that comets may contain quite complex organic molecules, and that comets may have played a role in the origin and conceivably even in the subsequent evolution of terrestrial life.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Whipple, F. L. & Huebner, W. F. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 14, 143–172 (1976).
Donn, B., Mumma, M., Jackson, W., A'Hearn, M. & Harrington, R. (eds) The Study of Comets (NASA SP-393, 1976).
Delsemme, A. H. in Comets, Asteroids, and Meteorites (ed. Delsemme, A. H.) 3–13 (University of Toledo Press, 1977).
Brownlee, D. E. in Cosmic Dust (ed. MacDonald, J. A. M.) 295–336 (Wiley, New York, 1978).
Anders, E., Ganapathy, R., Krähenbühl, U. & Morgan, J. W. Moon 8, 3–24 (1973).
Lewis, J. S. Icarus 15, 174–185 (1971).
Whipple, F. L. & Stefanik, R. P. in Nature et Origine des Comètes, 33–52 (University of Liège, 1966).
Lee, T., Papanastassiou, D. A. & Wasserburg, G. J. Astrophys. J. Lett. 211, L107–L110 (1977).
Fish, R. A., Goles, G. G. & Anders, E. Astrophys. J. 132, 243–258 (1960).
Wood, J. A. Icarus 6, 1–49 (1967).
Roemer, E. in Nature et Origine des Comètes, 23–28 (University of Liège, 1966).
Konopleva, V. P. & Shul'man, L. M. in The Motion, Evolution of Orbits, and Origin of Comets (eds Chebotarev, G. A., Kazimirchak-Polonskaya, E. I. & Marsden, B. G.) 277–282 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1972).
Sekanina, Z. in The Motion, Evolution of Orbits, and Origin of Comets (eds Chebotarev, G. A., Kazimirchak-Polonskaya, E. I. & Marsden, B. G.) 301–307 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1972).
Wetherill, G. W. Scient. Am. 240, 54–65 (1979).
Ashbrook, J. Sky Telesc. 55, 4–5 (1978).
Lee, T., Papanastassiou, D. A. & Wasserburg, G. J. Geophys. Res. Lett. 3, 109–112 (1976).
Watson, K., Murray, B. C. & Brown, H. Icarus 1, 317–327 (1963).
Delsemme, A. H. & Miller, D. C. Planet. Space Sci. 19, 1229–1257 (1971).
Ratcliffe, E. H. Phil. Mag. 7, 1197–1203 (1962).
Weast, R. C. (ed.) Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (Chemical Rubber Co., Cleveland, 1970).
Keihm, S. J. & Langseth, M. G. Icarus 24, 211–230 (1975).
Schloerb, F. P., Muhleman, D. O. & Berge, G. L. Icarus 29, 329–341 (1976).
Wood, J. A. in Asteroids (University of Arizona Press, Tuscon, in the press).
Anders, E., Hayatsu, R. & Studier, M. H. Science 182, 781–790 (1973).
Wetherill, G. W. A. Rev. Earth planet. Sci. 2, 303–332 (1974).
Chapman, C. R., Williams, J. G. & Hartmann, W. K. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 16, 33–75 (1978).
Anders, E. Icarus 24, 363–371 (1975).
Öpik, E. J. Adv. Astr. Astrophys. 2, 219–262 (1963).
Wilkening, L. L. in Asteroids (University of Arizona Press, Tuscon, in the press).
Sekanina, Z. in The Study of Comets (eds Donn, B., Mumma, M., Jackson, W., A'Hearn, M. & Harrington, R.) 537–585 (NASA SP-393, 1976).
Hayatsu, R., Studier, M. H., Matsuoka, S. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 36, 555–571 (1972).
Orgel, L. E. The Origins of Life (Wiley, New York, 1973).
Stoks, P. G. & Schwartz, A. W. Nature 282, 709–710 (1979).
Draganić, Z., Draganić, I., Shimoyama, A. & Ponnamperuma, C. in Origin of Life (ed. Noda, H.) 129–134 (Center for Academic Publications, Japan, 1978).
Paecht-Horowitz, M. Origins of Life 7, 369–381 (1976).
Schidlowski, M. in Origin of Life (ed. Noda, H.) 3–20 (Center for Academic Publications, Japan, 1978).
Anders, E. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 108, 514–533 (1963).
Corliss, J. B. et al. Science 203, 1073–1083 (1979).
Oort, J. H. Bull. astr. Insts Netherlands 11, 91–110 (1950).
Anders, E. in Physical Studies of Minor Planets (ed. Gehrels, T.) 429–446 (NASA SP-267, 1971).
Whipple, F. L. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 37, 19–30 (1951).
Hughes, D. W. in Cosmic Dust (ed. MacDonald, J. A. M.) Ch. 3 (Wiley, New York, 1978).
Hoyle, F. & Wickramasinghe, C. New Scient. 76, 402–404 (1977).
Hoyle, F. Mercury 7, 2–7 (1978).
Agol, V. I. Origins of Life 7, 119–132 (1976).
Diener, T. O. A. Rev. Microbiol. 28, 23–39 (1974).
Semancik, J. S., Conejero, V. & Gerhart, J. Virology 80, 218–221 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Irvine, W., Leschine, S. & Schloerb, F. Thermal history, chemical composition and relationship of comets to the origin of life. Nature 283, 748–749 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283748a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/283748a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Thermal and Chemical Evolution of Comet Nuclei and Kuiper Belt Objects
Space Science Reviews (2008)