Deep Impact collision ejected the stuff of life

New Scientist ^ | 07 September 2005 | Maggie McKee

[keithtoo]

How in the world are they able to determine that organic molecules were ejected? I don't get it.

[RightWhale]

The idea of carbon and water ought to get some attention from potential moon colonists. The moon is real short of these materials.

[RightWhale]

The 1967 Treaty is pretty bad, will strangle the nascent space industry in the cradle, etc., to reuse an old metaphor from the days of the colonization of the Mississippi Valley, but the 1984 Moon Treaty is even more egregious, so much so that even Congress could see what was going on and did not approve signing.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

See this stuff. Its how they can determine what it is that was ejected.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_line

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_spectrum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_spectrum

[Bones75]

"How in the world are they able to determine that organic molecules were ejected? I don't get it."

By analysis of the spectra of the ejected material. The chemical makeup of any substance or object can be read in the spectrum of light given off or reflected by the object. This is how we know the chemical makeup of stars, nebulae, etc that are thousands of light years away.

Hope this help.

Bones

[PatrickHenry]

Okay, I'll ping for either this thread, or the other one on the same topic, to which Junior pinged me:
Deep Impact space collision reveals comets to be fluffy balls of powder .

I like this one, because of the source, but you two decide. Meanwhile, I'm cranking up the ping machine ...