The Hunt for Life on Mars

Chapter two describes how the meteorites strike the Earth, and explains the results of the collision between these meteorites and the Earth. One of these severe results is the extinction of dinosaurs since about 65 million years. The author of the book assigned this extinction to the extraterrestrial impact. Conversely, recent studies, including my own research, indicate multiple causes for this extinction (see Elewa 2008 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h; Elewa and Dakrory 2008a, b; Elewa and Joseph 2009; Elewa 2014; Elewa and Abdelhady 2020). Still, this chapter is interesting in explaining how scientists search for meteorites, and why they focus their research on Antarctica. The most important part of this chapter is that of age dating using radioactive elements. The author stated that Δ14C has a half-life of 5750 years. Here I would note that scientists found it inaccurate to apply this technique for organic matters of more than 3000 years old. I would also add that there should be definite cautions when applying this technique because any disturbance of the optimum conditions will normally lead to inaccurate results. Article History