Seas Discovered on Titan

[troutman]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/0....ap/index.html

Story Highlights

• Researchers locate at least two liquid seas on Titan's north pole
• Seas are probably composed of methane or ethane
• Discovery made by the Cassini spacecraft
• Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has a largely nitrogen-based atmosphere

[SaskaBushFire]

Very interesting. What does this mean then, it could support some form of life? Obviously not humans, but there is a chance something may evolve there, or a different form of micro organisms may already exist there?

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by SaskaBushFire

Very interesting. What does this mean then, it could support some form of life? Obviously not humans, but there is a chance something may evolve there, or a different form of micro organisms may already exist there?

I would guess probably not. (Although given some of the strange places that support life on earth, anything is possible)

The significance of the discovery, I imagine, is just the interesting differences we are discovering between various worlds. This planet-sized moon has liquid methane rain, liquid methane seas, erosion, atmosphere, and landscape... pretty interesting place.

[worth]

Isn't this already old news? I remember watching the live feed of cassini a few years ago and looking at those pictures and thought that the pictures showed lakes and oceans.

I beleive the oceans are methane, not water. So i'm not exactly sure if life can evolve out of methane, but there could possibly be microbial life there.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by SaskaBushFire

Very interesting. What does this mean then, it could support some form of life? Obviously not humans, but there is a chance something may evolve there, or a different form of micro organisms may already exist there?

Probably too cold to support any kind of life but an interesting find nonetheless.

[Frequitude]

Well they've got tons of fuel, just no oxygen to burn it.

[Lanny_MacDonald]

I guess the potential for space mining is not that far fetched. Now if there was only a cheap way to transport all that fossil fuel back to earth... !

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by worth

Isn't this already old news? I remember watching the live feed of cassini a few years ago and looking at those pictures and thought that the pictures showed lakes and oceans.

I beleive the oceans are methane, not water. So i'm not exactly sure if life can evolve out of methane, but there could possibly be microbial life there.

I think they suspected it, but due to the cloud cover they said it could be years for them to confirm it.

And the local news on Titan has revealed that their survey craft that they sent to Earth discovered seas of dihydrogen monoxide, but as every Titanian knows you need methane to support life.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

I guess the potential for space mining is not that far fetched. Now if there was only a cheap way to transport all that fossil fuel back to earth... !

Technically, based on the lack of life, this methane wouldn't be fossil fuel.

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Technically, based on the lack of life, this methane wouldn't be fossil fuel.

Very astute observation!!!

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

Very astute observation!!!

Astute, nitpicking, it's all the same.

[troutman]

I, for one, welcome our new methane-based overlords.

[corporatejay]

I think the "old news" you're thinking of is Europa which is a jupiter moon which they believe has a massive ocean underneath. The suface is ice.

They believe it is possible some type of life to live underneath the surface.

[Super-Rye]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Probably too cold to support any kind of life but an interesting find nonetheless.

Our experiance of what life if is limited to this planet. Animals can't survive at the tops of mountains because it's took cold and so forth but who know s what kind of life is out there, given the different possibilities it has the chance to evolve into.

(I'm not saying there's life on Titan either :P)

[CaptainCrunch]

I think we need to call it operation strip mine.

[Manson?]

We shall call it operation hot mother

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by troutman

I, for one, welcome our new methane-based overlords.

Nice.

[AC]

Originally Posted by Manson?

We shall call it operation hot mother

No, let's try to top that.

...

They never did.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by worth

I beleive the oceans are methane, not water. So i'm not exactly sure if life can evolve out of methane, but there could possibly be microbial life there.

There are microbial life that can metabolize methane here on earth but I think they also need water to make it happen. If the metabolic pathway involves carbon dioxide production then there must be some sort of oxygen source so I'm not sure if that can be accomodated on Titan.

http://www.chemlin.net/news/2006/feb2006/methane.htm

[troutman]

http://www.planetary.org/news/2007/0...thane_and.html

Titan "sea" and Lake Superior
The left hand image shows the outlines of the giant "sea" discovered in the northern latitudes of Titan by Cassini's radar on February 22, 2007. The right hand image is Lake Superior in North America, which at 82,000 square kilometers (32,000 square miles) is smaller than the Titan sea's 100,000 square kilometers (39,000 square miles).