FOSSILS IN METEORITES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1585, 8 April 1882, Page 29

FOSSILS IN METEORITES.

It may be remembered how great a sensation was caused by Sir William Thomson in his address at the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association, suggesting th.at }ife may have reached our planet from more advanoed. worlqs by the. agency qf meteorites, It may be thought that the researches of Dr Hahn, of Tubingen, just published, lend some countenance to this daring hypothesis. Dr Hahn's method of observation has been to obtain transparent sections of meteorites, and to subject these to minute examination. There are two sorts of meteorites—those which are exclusively composed of iron ; and those which - contain, in varying proportions, siliceous sub1 stances. The former are frequently pet with,; th§ others are relatively nare, especially those which are exclusively silecious, without any trace nf iron. It is the siliceous meteorites which Dr Hahn has subjected to examination which has Jed him to remarkable conclusions. These meteorites are found generally in the form of apherical or pear - shaped masses, slightly coloured. If we examine a section made in the direction of the length, wo see fibres composed of small polypherza. These fibres present in section the form, qf an impegular polygon, with a^ related aßßewance,. The , fibres |erminate jn a ppint, and, sqmetimes thWV ouj; ramifications. Tb,ey comprise a clearjy coloured nucleus, envelqped with a shaty Bubs.tance f By examining $© W^te

structure of these meteorites Dr Hahn be- ! lieves he has been able to prove that they are composed almost exclusively of fossil organisms. Dr Weinland, to whom Dr Hahn intrusted the classification of these t organisms, compares them to the detritus of coral rocks. He adds that complete forms are rarely to be met with, but elements sufficient to reconstruct them are obtained. He has succeeded in establishing the existence of about 50 species of polyps-algae glued together by a siliceous cement. These fossils sometimes present much resemblance to those of terrestrial origin. The presence of organic substances in meteorites has already been admitted on several hands. Wockler was the first to find hydrocarbons in an aerolite which fell in Hungary. The fact has been admitted since on several occasions, and explained by the decomposition of organic substances. Of course the momentous bearing of this discovery, if it stands the test of examinations, is evident, as it would tend to prove the existence of life in other planets besides our own. The ultraterrestrial origin of these "meteorites" must be placed beyond doubt 'before any other step be taken; and then Dr Hahn's experiences should be followed up by others undertaken by scientists in whom the world has full confidence. At present; his conclusions can only be accepted as mere hypotheses, requiring the most rigid verification.