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Re: (meteorobs) Fwd: CCNet 122/2000 - 27 November 2000
> CCNet 122/2000 - 27 November 2000
> ---------------------------------
>
> (1) SCIENTISTS CLAIM DISCOVERY OF MICROBE FROM SPACE
> CNN, 24 November 2000
> Looking at spectral data from the 1999 Leonid meteorite shower, they
> detected a bacterial "fingerprint" as the tiny space rocks streaked across
> the sky. In other words, the micrometeorites burned through the atmospheric
> edge in a manner that suggests they sizzled microbes existing in the same
> airspace.
Would any of our spectroscopists care to comment? Is this spectrum
available for viewing online? I recall a Royal Astronomical Society
meeting several years ago where Hoyle used IUE spectra as evidence for
life in space. To the observational astronomers present, there was a
clear lack of understanding and naivety of data and data errors in their
anaylsis. Hence I'd need to be convinced that this wasn't an artifact
or some over interpretation of the data.
One has to be sure that the signature, if genuine, is unique to
bacteria. It's a case of an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary
evidence.
This research may lead to more interest and funding for meteor
spectroscopy.
Malcolm Currie
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