[Robert357]

Time out to talk about the elephant in the room.

Methane.

Methane one earth is produced by the decay of formerly live objects. Yes, the Hydrocarbon methane is associated with decayed life forms. Natural Gas, coal mine gas are associated with decayed and oxygenated peat bogs, etc.

So lots and lots of methane ice pack probably means that once upon a time there was a lot of life on that planet.

[Red Badger]

Then there must have been tons of life on Jupiter,Saturn, Uranus and Neptune..................

[Reily]

There’s interstellar methane. I do think the vast majority of origin for methane on the earth is of biotic origin like you said.

Interstellar methane (go down the list to “5 atoms”)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_interstellar_and_circumstellar_molecules#:~:text=Formaldehyde%20is%20an%20organic%20molecule%20that%20is%20widely,planets%20in%20the%20Solar%20System.%20Five%20atoms%20%2820%29

[datura]

Hydrocarbon production is abiotic, geochemical in nature. Yes, decaying animals release it, but terrestrial oil is not fossil based.

[JimRed]

So lots and lots of methane ice pack probably means that once upon a time there was a lot of life on that planet.

That far out, how did it become warm enough for life (as we know it) to exist?