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Methane discovery suggests presence of life on Mars, say Nasa scientists

Discussion in 'Science & Technology' started by Celtkin, Jan 15, 2009.

  1. Celtkin

    Celtkin <B>Webmaster</b> Luxury Box

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    http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24917099-401,00.html

    While this is not absolute proof of life on Mars, it is a fairly strong hint that a class of microbes that exist on Earth also may exist on Mars.
     
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  2. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    I would think methane would be found in much larger quantities around Uranus. Sorry, too easy to pass that one up.
     
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  3. mullingan

    mullingan New Grandbaby Pic!!!

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    :lol::lol::lol::knucks:

    Thanks for the chuckle this morning!!!
     
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  4. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Neptune has a 1 percent of methane makeup.. I think methane "can" indicate life, but does not guarantee it.
     
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  5. Celtkin

    Celtkin <B>Webmaster</b> Luxury Box

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    In the case of Mars, there are no active volcanoes - another source of methane. Any methane produced by a volcanic event would be quickly lost due to Mars' thin atmosphere. This finding suggests that something is continually making methane at sustainable levels.
     
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  6. CrunchTime

    CrunchTime Administrator Retired Administrator

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    Interesting .I think they eventually will come to the conclusion that life did exist on Mars at one time......maybe even still exists under the surface close to the polar caps or a water source.

    Mars may be like what is in store for Earth if there is a pole reversal .
     
  7. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    We have enough gravity to hold the atmosphere, mars doesn't. The magnetic poles have shifted many many times.. and there was no crust movement or displacement, won't happen this time either.
     
  8. Celtkin

    Celtkin <B>Webmaster</b> Luxury Box

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    If we use Earth as a guide for what may have happened or be ongoing on Mars, given the tons of methane that is being generated without active volcanos being involved and given the very thin atmosphere there, we have to seriously consider that methanogens are currently involved in converting CO2 to methane.

    There could be other causes that we have not encountered on Earth or that we may have not considered, but methanogens seem to be a reasonable "guess" as being a possible cause.
     
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  9. CrunchTime

    CrunchTime Administrator Retired Administrator

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    No one really understands the effects of pole reversal.The last one was 700,000 years ago .

    Its the magnetic field that protect us from solar wind and radiation .Some have theorized that the radiation could boil of our atmosphere like maybe it did on Mars.

    Even if it doesnt ,the survivors will have a very tough time of it.There will be massive flooding as continents adapt to new conditions.The Equator is something like 50 miles wider than the circumference from North to South .That will change depending where the new equator will be.

    Food supplies will be short and maybe human kind will be exposed to a Mad Max scenario .

    I guess it depends on the degree of the magnetic pole change .Its all theory anyway so your guess is as good as mine
     
  10. Celtkin

    Celtkin <B>Webmaster</b> Luxury Box

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    I listened to a press conference from NASA. There are two other possible sources of methane that their geologist mentioned. One is a meteor impact but that idea was described as not very likely due to the time frame, and lack of an impact crater of a size big enough to have carried that much methane.

    The second possibility is the seasonal melting of subsurface ice containing methane. What the instruments have noted is a seasonal release of methane. If that is the case, you have to go back to consider the original source of the methane in the ice. It may have come from old volcanic activity or from now-extinct methanogens.

    What the team believes it now needs to do is look for other signature molecules that are only associated with biological activity such as terpenes, and/or biogenic hydrocarbon.
     
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  11. jdang307

    jdang307 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    OH god I was thinking of a joke but none as good as this one. Perfect.
     
  12. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    I believe there is one inactive volcano on mars no? Or am I thinking of something else?
     
  13. Celtkin

    Celtkin <B>Webmaster</b> Luxury Box

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    There are many inactive (no activity in 4 million years) volcanoes on Mars and several sites I read today have all but ruled out volcanoes as a source of the methane. The rational is that if this is a seasonal thawing of ice and a release of ancient methane, there would be undetectable levels of methane left today. There is also the issue of sulphur dioxide -- a gas that is produced at much higher levels than methane during an eruption. If this methane was owed to trapped volcanic gasses, you would see corresponding high levels of sulphur dioxide but that is not the case.

    http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8256-volcanoes-ruled-out-for-martian-methane.html

    To put the amount of methane we are talking about into some perspective:

    http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/marsmethane.html
     
  14. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    this is the volcano I was referring to:

    Explanation: The largest volcano in the Solar System is on Mars. Olympus Mons rises 24 kilometers high and measures 550 km across. By comparison, Earth's largest volcano, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, rises 9 km high and measures 120 km across. Such large volcanoes can exist on Mars because of the low gravity and lack of surface tectonic motion. Olympus Mons is a shield volcano, built by fluid lava. Over the next three years, Mars Global Surveyor, which arrived at Mars last week, will photograph the planet at such high resolution that objects only 100 meters across will be visible. The above image was taken by Mariner 9, which orbited and photographed Mars during 1971 and 1972.
     
  15. Celtkin

    Celtkin <B>Webmaster</b> Luxury Box

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    There are many volcanoes on Mars:

    http://www.solarviews.com/eng/marsvolc.htm

    http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/mvolcan/volcanoes_index.shtml

    The last volcanic activity is estimated to more than two million years ago. The last estimated volcanic event for Olympus Mons was around 2.4 million years ago.

    http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=2692
     
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  16. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    yes I read about that. Just that was the volcano that came to my mind when I read about the methane.
     
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  17. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    I think I also read that they thought the volcanoes might still release magma now and again, can anyone confirm that ? Or was it proven to be false?
     
  18. Celtkin

    Celtkin <B>Webmaster</b> Luxury Box

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    I have only read that the volcanoes may not be extinct so I would assume that is the case.
     
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  19. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    The reversal of the magnetis poles will have nothing to go with Earths rotation.. we will continue the same spin no matter where the magnetic pole is. The will be no plate displacement.
     

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