Sunday, June 20, 2010

Could there be life in our solar system on the Moons of Saturn?

If you would have asked that questions a few years ago you might have been laughed at, but now, scientists are slowing starting to warm up to the possibility.  As some of you might remember, Titan, one of the moon's of Saturn, has been in the news alot the past few years due to it having an ocean.  Now, that ocean might be made up mostly of methane, but its still a liquid medium and where there is carbon, energy and liquid, we have the possibility of life.  Of course possibility and reality are not one in the same and determining if life exists on Titan is a long way away.  Nonetheless, scientists are working to determine if this is real and have set some basic criteria that would have to be met before we actually find a way to land on the sucker.  Well, as more data is collected by Cassinni, more of the criteria are being met.  These observations, and the fact that biologists here on earth continue to find microorganisms in the most extreme environments, really teases at the possibility of novel life on a sub-planetary body here in our own little neck of the galaxy.  Overall I'd say its an exciting time for the exobiologists.  If you want to read more on the criteria and the Cassinni missions, here is a link to a much more in depth time article.

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