Two astronomers recently said that there is strong evidence of alien life on Philae Comet. The scientists claim that the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet that carries the Philae probe throughout space possesses a lot of features that support the idea there is life on it, beneath its icy surface, as it has a very rich and organic black crust.
The spacecraft from Europe that is currently orbiting the comet, Rosetta, has also gathered some odd organic material samples that look to be viral particles. However, neither Philae nor Rosetta have the necessary equipment to look for evidence of alien life, seeing how the proposition to include such equipment in the mission was dismissed.
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, an astrobiologist and astronomer involved in the planning of this mission said that he wanted to include affordable life-detection equipment in the mission but his proposition was dismissed as it was considered to be very bizarre.
Chandra and Dr. Max Wallis of the University of Cardiff and his colleague both believe that the 67P and other such comets may be homes to living microbes that are very similar to the extremophiles inhabiting the most rigid places on Earth. The scientists claim that comets such as this may have helped the beginning of life on our planet and on others, like Mars, in the very early existence of our solar system.
After it was dropped by Rosetta in November, Philae had a hard time attaching itself to the surface of the comet and eventually bounced off the land and made a stop in the shade. Philae was then forced into hibernation because sunlight couldn’t reach its solar panels but eventually began waking up as the 67P comet traveled towards the sun, which had the scientists responsible for the mission excited. The Philae probe is now about 177 million miles away from Earth and it is traveling at a speed of over 73,000 miles per hour.
Some simulations have indicated that microbes could be living in the watery areas of the comet. The rock has a layer of ice on which a hydrocarbon black crust is present as well as craters containing lakes of frozen water and icy seas filled with organic debris.
Rosetta also discovered some organic particles in the gases that surround the comet, which are similar to the viral particles in our planet’s upper atmosphere. Professor Wickramasinghe said that those particles found by Rosetta could be viral as well.
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John Birks
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