• Question: How big is the comet compared to Earth and is there a possibility there is life on the comet or outer space

    Asked by 962spce38 to Laurence on 29 Feb 2016.
    • Photo: Laurence O'Rourke

      Laurence O'Rourke answered on 29 Feb 2016:


      Great question. Well the comet is about 2-2.5 km radius so really really small when compared to Earth standards. In fact it’s losing about 1m of its surface in its orbit round the sun (every 6 years) so in less than 15,000 years it won’t exist any more.

      What we are finding is that the comet has the building blocks of life (smallest components making up enzymes for example) which demonstrates that comets most likely brought life to Earth.

      As for life in outer space – we haven’t found any yet. There are lots of planets around other stars and if they are in the same distance to the sun as the Earth then there is no reason why they couldn’t have life also forming there.

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