Posted on 07/05/2014 9:53:03 PM PDT by BenLurkin
According to new findings just published in this week’s edition of the journal Icarus, NASA’s Cassini Mission has brought to light new evidence of an actual ocean inside Titan, Saturn’s biggest moon. Furthermore, the ocean in question might even be as salt-laden as Earth’s Dead Sea.
This is but the latest discovery resulting from an analysis of data on topography and gravity gathered during the past decade. Scientists discovered that an extremely high density was needed for the surface ocean of Titan to explain the information on the gravity. This means that Titan’s ocean has to be a very “salty brine of water mixed with dissolved salts” like potassium, sodium or sulphur. The team also learned that density of Titan’s outer ice shell differs from spot to spot. This indicates that the shell is currently freezing solid.
Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist, concluded: “Titan continues to prove itself an endlessly fascinating world. With our long-lived Cassini spacecraft, we’re unlocking new mysteries as fast as we solve old ones.”
(Excerpt) Read more at americanlivewire.com ...
(On the other hand, if reliable inlets of fresh water can be found, then the choice of locations where a probe should be sent just got considerably simplified....)
Life doesn’t have to be like us to be life. I’m sure life will find a way to breathe salt water.
...I’m talking abut water as briny as the Dead Sea... That’s way different than normal salt water in Earth’s Oceans....
Because we all know life can’t adapt to adverse conditions.
Who’s to say it can’t happen?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsiders_(Known_Space)
Listening to the audiobooks, they were creatures made out of liquid hydrogen, who feed off artificial or natural sunlight, from what I remember.
The Origin of the Oceans
http://www.varchive.org/itb/ecocean.htm
Thanks BenLurkin. Extra to APoD.
And, I'm basing my statement on what has been seen with searches for life on the Dead Sea.
I wish people wouldn't stuff words into my mouth that I haven't said...
The problem with explaining the origin of life is, how did self-replicating molecules arise? DNA is very complex. Even the simplest life forms require some such complex molecules. But how could such complexity have arisen? There must have some intermediate forms, but we don't know what it was.
Once you get complex self-reproducing molecules, though, natural selection can do the rest in terms of making increasingly complex life forms.
Perhaps the intermediaries to get to DNA no longer exist. It would be like if we built sentient machines and then we died out. Later, the machines might wonder how they originated. The intermediate step, us, would be gone.
Define “harder”.
And the basis for this bold assertion is...?
Regards,
The results from searching for life in the Dead Sea, which Titan's oceans are being compared to in this article.
Really, people, it's called the "Dead Sea" NOT because life finds it easy in there! Life can be found, but only in very particular areas where the water chemistry is different that what is found in the vast majority of it....
That stuck with me.
The Dead Sea is home to billions of organisms. It is literally teaming with life.
In Titan's sea, there may also be "very particular areas."
Regards,
Take a number and divide it by two. Take that number and divide it by two. Continue dividing by two. Call me when you get to the end, lol.
What's the old indian saying? It's turtles all the way down.
We need a probe that can scoop up samples and bring them back.
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