Astronomy Picture of the Day - Methane Discovered on Distant Exoplanet

NASA ^ | 20 Sep, 2023 | Illustration Credit: Ahmad Jabakenji (ASU Lebanon, North Star Space Art); Data: NASA, ESA, CSA, JWST

[NorthMountain]

Here's some actual data, displayed graphically:

Source.

[minnesota_bound]

How did the dinosaurs get there?

[Bullish]

They should name it Krypton.

[Bubba_Leroy]

You’re still in the same spot you always were, where Earth is the only planet in the universe known to be capable of supporting life.

Yep.

The most "Earth-like" planet ever discovered is almost exactly the same size and mass as Earth and orbits a yellow dwarf star at relatively close to the same orbit. It is called "Venus" and up close it is not very Earth-like.

Methane is common throughout the galaxy. So are organic molecules, even complex organic molecules. Making them is easy. Just take oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and a few other elements, contain them in a high-pressure environment with a heat source, and mix them around for a few million years. Gas giants work really well at that.

How to make the jump from the most complex organic molecules to the simplest living organism is the big unknown. Unless and until we either (a) figure out how to make a living organism from scratch in a laboratory, or (b) find life somewhere else, we have no idea how common or rare life is. It is entirely possible that the rest of the universe is completely sterile.

[Red Badger]

There’s methane on Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus...............so no life there...............

[Red Badger]

There’s methane on Uranus..................

[telescope115]

An interesting web site. I’m going to save a link to it, lots of information there.

Sorry for the late response. I actually had an astronomy club meeting last night.

Thanks for the info and the link!

[Boogieman]

“Unless and until we either (a) figure out how to make a living organism from scratch in a laboratory, or (b) find life somewhere else, we have no idea how common or rare life is. It is entirely possible that the rest of the universe is completely sterile.”

Indeed, but atheists like to pretend they don’t have to demonstrate that, but can take it as a given, simply because their materialist assumptions leave them willfully blind to other possibilities. So they think the axiom “when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true” can be applied, and they just assume life must occur at random. But they have never actually eliminated any non-materialist cause as being impossible, since they do not consider them, so they cannot properly apply that axiom. They are just deluding themselves.

[DannyTN]

"Looks like land and water but no lights on the dark side."

Which is perfect!!!

They haven't discovered electic lights yet. So no remote controls, radio, television, vehicles.

We can use our technology to make them think we're gods.

We can make them into the utopian society of our dreams or more likely screw them up beyond all recognition.

[DannyTN]

Well I like the way the red mountains have little blue and green trees on them.