Are we looking at planets capable of supporting life in their earliest stages? Even if they won't evolve on their own if we put plants on there and leave it will a whole new lifeform(s) develop on there? The reason for my question is in this extract from BBC Bitesize revision:
The early atmosphere was probably mostly carbon dioxide, with little or no oxygen. There were smaller proportions of water vapour, ammonia and methane. As the Earth cooled down, most of the water vapour condensed and formed the oceans.
It is thought that the atmospheres of Mars and Venus today, which contain mostly carbon dioxide, are similar to the early atmosphere of the Earth.
Changes in the atmosphere:
So how did the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere go down, and the proportion of oxygen go up?
• The proportion of oxygen went up because of photosynthesis by plants.
Ran out of characters - page here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa/oils/changesrev8.shtml
2007-01-13
03:39:29
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12 answers
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ukcufs
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Astronomy & Space