Intergalactic Spores

[orbsycli]

could it be that this strange mushroom fungi was dispersed from another planet?

and it just so happened to land right here, in a nice meadow
for an underevolved, curious primate looks down at some dung
and notices a small psilocybe umbrella...
BINGO!
a light goes on. (conciousness)

yes yes i know, far-fetched theory. my main question is this:

is it possible that mushrooms spores can travel through outerspace undamaged?

and even if they could, how would get get through earths atmosphere without burning to a crisp?

maybe they could have been lodged inside of a meteor, unharmed as it fiercefully rocketed towards the ground burning and smashed into the earth.

meh, what do you guys think about all of this?

[orbsycli]

some people believe that psilocybe mushrooms are the microphone of the overmind...

[armofreek]

i dont think an actual mushroom, being edible, can puncture a planets atmosphere. It would also need oxygen to survive... There is the possibility of an air pocket inside of a meteorite, full of mushrooms, crashing into earth. would the fungus just burn away in the explosion, or would particles of spore be spread to the earth, and begin a new era of life....

[orbsycli]

spore, mr. chanchanian
the spore is a microscopic fungi seed.
not an actual mushroom flying thru space.
hehe

[Loricybin]

although this puts a hilarious image in my mind of a panicking mushroom family bracing for impact in a pocketing rocketing meteorite

[orbsycli]

come on guys, i am looking for some serious scientific insight on this.

[Loricybin]

well would it be possible for something that light to enter the atmosphere at all without being propelled?
then again gravity propells it inward. . .


i don't know much about this sort of thing, but my brain is giving me this possibility:

the intense heat on re-entry is due to friction, resistance on the craft, yes?

so wouldn't something as tiny and light as spores be unable to get through our atmoshpere's boundaries? Get pushed outward like a wall is blocking it?

then there is that goofy meteor theory.
well, maybe i'm horribly wrong, and i don't doubt it

[infamous]

Originally Posted by orbsycli

come on guys, i am looking for some serious scientific insight on this.

I was just watching a special on Natural Geographic Channel about meteors and the point was made that; Meteors are very cold when they enter earth's atmosphere. Fairly close to absolute zero in fact, and are only exposed to the heat of atmospheric friction for a brief time because they are moving so fast. When they hit the earth, the center of the meteor is usually still cold enough to prevent the heating to penetrate clear thru to the core. It is very likely that a frozen spore or for that matter, a virus and even a bacterium could survive the trip as long as they could take the cold of outer space and the meteor was large enough to maintain the core temperature below that which would otherwise kill it's contents ............................good thought Orby...............Infy

[coldcreation]

Originally Posted by infamous

I was just watching a special on Natural Geographic Channel about meteors and the point was made that; Meteors are very cold when they enter earth's atmosphere. Fairly close to absolute zero in fact, and are only exposed to the heat of atmospheric friction for a brief time because they are moving so fast. When they hit the earth, the center of the meteor is usually still cold enough to prevent the heating to penetrate clear thru to the core. It is very likely that a frozen spore or for that matter, a virus and even a bacterium could survive the trip as long as they could take the cold of outer space and the meteor was large enough to maintain the core temperature below that which would otherwise kill it's contents ............................good thought Orby...............Infy

Indeed Infy, you've got several good points.

My thoughts on your initial post orbsycli: It should be possible for spores to enter the atmophere without burning up, as long as the angle of entery was oblique, and as long as velocity was low.

The question is where would they come from. The short answer is from just about anywhere. They may not have been formed in the solar system.
You know that something like 17,000 tons of dust and other matter falls to earth from space every day (I think).

Certain theories have it that life here began form extraterrestrial spores and other organic material.

Your choosing the hallucinogenic muchroom spore sounds as if you think the effect from eating them is out-of-this-world. Whether they (or any other complex organic material) originally came from the bottom of the oceans near volcanos, from the interface where oceans (and other bodies of water) meet land, or form outer space, are really open questions.

cc

[coldcreation]

posted twice for some reason (deleted)