Panspermia
Panspermia
Panspermia (pronunciation: /pænˈspɜːrmiə/) is a hypothesis that suggests that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed by space dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, and also by spacecraft carrying unintended contamination by microorganisms.
Etymology
The term "panspermia" comes from the Greek words "pan" (πᾶν), meaning 'all', and "sperma" (σπέρμα), meaning 'seed'. The concept of panspermia was first formalized by the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras.
Related Terms
- Astrobiology: The study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
- Extraterrestrial life: Life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth.
- Meteoroids: A small particle from a comet or asteroid orbiting the sun.
- Astrophysics: The branch of astronomy that deals with the physical properties of celestial bodies and with the interaction between matter and radiation in the interior of celestial bodies and in interstellar space.
- Microorganism: A microscopic organism, especially a bacterium, virus, or fungus.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Panspermia
- Wikipedia's article - Panspermia
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski