According to the Daily Telegraph of October 9, water ice and organic molecules that help to form the basis of life have been discovered on a second asteroid, called 65 Cybele, by astronomers。
The finding was reported at a meeting of planetary scientists in Pasadena, California, where scientists said the presence of ice lends support to theories that life on Earth was seeded from out of space after being carried here on asteroids。
The researchers made a similar discovery in April this year when they discovered the first evidence of ice on an asteroid called 24 Themis。
Both this asteroid and the latest discovery are found in the asteroid belt that sits between Mars and Jupiter。
"This discovery suggests that this region of our solar system contains more water ice than anticipated," said Professor Humberto Campins, an astronomer from University of Central Florida who led the research team, "It supports the theory that asteroids may have hit the Earth and brought our planet its water and the building blocks for life to form and evolve here."Professor Campins presented his findings at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences in Pasadena, California。
据《每日电讯报》10月9日报道，天文学家们发现，又有一颗小行星上存在组成生命基础的水冰和有机分子。这颗小行星被称为原神星(65 cybele)。
行星科学家们在加利福尼亚州帕萨迪纳举行的一次会议上，公布了这一研究成果。科学家们在这次会议上说，冰的存在支持了以下理论：地球上的生命源自太空，是被小行星带到这儿来的。
研究人员今年4月有一个类似发现。他们当时发现，首次有证据证明，在一颗被称为司理星(24 Themis)的小行星上存在冰。
这次发现的小行星和上次发现的小行星都位于火星与木星之间的小行星带中。
中佛罗里达大学的天文学家、这项研究的带头人温贝托?坎平斯教授说：“这一发现表明，我们太阳系的这一地带含有的水冰比原先预计的要多。这支持了以下理论：小行星可能撞击过地球，给我们这颗行星带来了水和使生命得以在此形成和发展的基础材料。”
在美国天文学会行星科学分会于帕萨迪纳举行的年会上，坎平斯教授提交了他的这一研究成果。
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