Abstract
Numerical simulation techniques can be applied to the collision of large organic-rich objects (comets and carbonaceous chondrite asteroids) with the early Earth. Results from these simulations imply that it is possible for a fraction of the extraterrestrial organic material to survive the high temperatures occurring during the impact (and thus contribute prebiotic material to the early Earth). Recent models for atmospheric passage, however, predict that the fate of such candidate impactors is an airburst capable of pyrolyzing the entire organic inventory of the comet or asteroid.
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Thomas, P.J., Brookshaw, L. (1997). Numerical Models of Comet and Asteroid Impacts. In: Thomas, P.J., Chyba, C.F., McKay, C.P. (eds) Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2688-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2688-6_6
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