Posted on 05/29/2013 4:30:15 PM PDT by lbryce
Please note that this article was originally published on March 20, 2008.
The possible detection of methane in the atmosphere of a distant planet could be the next big step in the search for life outside our solar system
Everyone seems to be double-extra-cautiously optimistic about this finding, so don’t go running out to your telescope tonight looking for greetings from friendly space creatures.
But in work reported today in Nature, astronomers say they used the Hubble Space Telescope’s infrared imager to pick up signs of methane in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star some 63 million light years from Earth. And methane, an organic molecule, is an indicator of the possible presence of life.
The bad news, for ET fans, is that the planet is probably too close to its host star to support the kind of life we’re all really looking for. The good news is that the very presence of methane, and water, in the planet’s atmosphere could be evidence that some form of life may be out there, either on this planet or others. Methane is key to the formation of amino acids, the basic building blocks of organisms.
Another key takeaway from this work, scientists say, is that astronomers have now moved from simply finding these planets—a not-so-simple job in and of itself—to exploring them chemically.
I don’t understand what you’re getting at. What does one thing have to do with the other? “It’s fiction for a reason” somehow that leads to all kinds of conspiracy stuff?
i am using inductive reasoning
Then explain your induction.
no and you cant make me nanny nanny foo foo
Uh oh, now you’ve done it.
yeah huh :-)
They said, in between Facebook posts.
Not so much a question of “friendlier” but a question of personal interest.
If I encountered your camper cruising down a Texas highway with a “BIG HEAD FRED” bumper sticker I’m not sure if I would try to stop you.
I would more than likely swerve into your path, just to get your attention and test your reaction.
yowee if i was in a camper in texas the bumper sticker would say just kill me now no seriously if i was in a camper in texas i hope you would notice me because i had been abducted by aliens and was in desperate need of succor
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