Meteors are rock debris that fall from bodies in space to earth. The source of these debris are the collision of the heavenly bodies in space thus leaving these debris behind which in turn might find their way to earth. Did you know that they contain different bacteria which they carry with them as they traverse space? There has been controversy on whether these bacteria may survive the journey to earth given the harsh conditions that they will be exposed to. Do they burn when the meteors hits the atmosphere where it is ignited due to the friction it causes with air thus heating up?
The objects in space ae exposed to different harsh conditions which is also metered to the bacteria that these objects carry with them. These conditions include the lack of oxygen which is the case in space. Additionally, they are exposed to either too low temperatures or too much heat. There is low gravity in space which also affects them. 513
Biologically speaking, these bacteria must develop survival mechanisms to make sure that they are able to survive in these conditions, right? Evolution takes place thus enabling them to withstand high temperatures that is the case when they roam near the sun in space. Therefore, these survival strategy makes it possible for the bacteria in meteors to survive the journey thus reaching earth unburnt. Did you know that when the meteor ignites, it does not burn to ashes but rather a part of it survives till it hits the earth surface? These part that usually reaches earth is known to carry bacteria along with it that survives the fire. This is possible from the fact the meteor undergoes heat removing processes thus making it cold for a very long time. Since rocks are bad conductors of heat, only the outer part gets hot during ignition and thus bacteria on the inside part may get to earth without being destructed by the heat.
I am sure that you have heard of meteors that have reached earth’s surface, and has been studied to find out more information about them. Consequently, scientists have confirmed the presence of bacteria that carries DNA information with them. These information have been helpful in learning biological materials that are way outside the reach of humans in earth. 208