What hypothesis suggests life can be distributed between planets via asteroids and comets?
Answer
Panspermia
Panspermia is the hypothesis suggesting that the raw ingredients for life, or even microbial life itself, can spread throughout the galaxy by hitching rides on solid celestial bodies. Asteroids and comets are key components of this theory because they travel between systems or planets. If terrestrial microbes possess the necessary extreme resilience to survive launch, the long transit through space, and atmospheric entry while protected within a rocky shell, then it is scientifically plausible that life originating on one world could seed another, shifting the focus of origin questions to where the blueprint was first created.
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