JMDMT #725 Microfossils of Cyanobacteria in Carbonaceous Meteorites
The James M. DuPont Meteorite Collection - I. Fankuchen of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, * Sagan*" suggested that indigenous organic matter may exist buried under the surface of the moon. He observed that "organisms shielded from solar illumination, perhaps in congealed dust matrix interstices, might survive cosmic radiation for 10" years or more; lunar subsurface temperatures are too low to impede survival." The Orgueil meteorite may repre- sent the remnant of such an undergrounfl habitat, but the experimental data gathered in this study do not preclude the possibilitj- that the parent body was of sufficient size to hold an atmosphere and thus, bodies of water. 552 Annals New York Academy of Sciences Lincoln LaPaz of The University of New Mexico and J. D. Bernal of Birkbeck
Added: Nov 21, 2008; Author: h4ck3rm1k3; Duration: 1:3; Views: 12