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Author Topic: "Building blocks of life" found on Saturn moon
Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 07 July 2007 05:35 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ooooh!

quote:
NASA's Cassini space probe has found hydrocarbons — compounds that make life possible on Earth — on the surface of one of Saturn's largest known moons, according to space agency scientists.

The conclusion, based on images taken of Hyperion, is outlined in a study published in the current issue of the journal Nature.

Dale Cruikshank, a planetary scientist and the paper's lead author, said the finding doesn't mean researchers have found life, but it's "a further indication that the basic chemistry needed for life is widespread in the universe."

Hydrocarbons are the basic chemicals necessary for life, combinations of carbon and hydrogen atoms. They have been found in comets, meteorites and space dust.



From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Nanuq
rabble-rouser
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posted 07 July 2007 07:56 AM      Profile for Nanuq   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
It doesn't necessarily mean anything. Hydrocarbons are fairly common even in the absence of life.
From: Toronto | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
3G Base Pairs
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posted 07 July 2007 06:08 PM      Profile for 3G Base Pairs        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I have some expertise in this area. Building blocks of life are important, but so is the availability of water and heat. This won't cut it.
From: The West | Registered: Jul 2007  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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Babbler # 5594

posted 08 July 2007 12:01 AM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Probe Titan for 'weird' life, U.S. scientists recommend

Terraforming Mars?


From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
DrConway
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Babbler # 490

posted 08 July 2007 04:09 AM      Profile for DrConway     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Titan could still qualify if it has any tectonic activity, which would indicate a slightly warmer core (due to frictional heat, etc) capable of providing relative 'hot spots' for life to form. But this is a rather long shot, I think.
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
500_Apples
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posted 08 July 2007 06:26 AM      Profile for 500_Apples   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
It probably does not need much internal radioactivity due to all the tidal effects from its giant neighbor.
From: Montreal, Quebec | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged
DrConway
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Babbler # 490

posted 08 July 2007 03:59 PM      Profile for DrConway     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Titan's tidally locked, so frictional heat would be at a minimum. Alas.
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged

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