Comments on: Mars Methane Mystery Still Beckons

By: Jeff Vachon

Jeff Vachon — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:10:06 +0000

Neptune's methane is uniformly spread around the planet whereas Mars methane seems concentrated in certain areas only to dissipate then reappear later. The most likely explanation is living organisms. Why don't scientists simply say that rather than looking for a more unlikely explanation?

By: michael mazur

michael mazur — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:26:43 +0000

Vanamonde has it more right than anyone else so far. May i add some things ?

Neptune is uniformly blue precisely because it is all covered in liquid methane.

No land masses and at about -220C.

For a moon of Saturn, Titan, lakes of the stuff, enough to supply earth indefinitely, in a manner of speaking only as it would likely kill us.

So, what we also have on Earth and Mars is of the same origin – when the Solar System formed 4.7Bn yrs ago, and that's it !

One can talk about microbial life forms causing it but they themselves are carbon based and so obtained the carbon from the pre existing methane.

Notice how the article is in unspoken dread of the idea getting around that the presence of methane on Mars will kill once and for all the politically correct notion that the methane gas we have here is fossil in origin.

The correct understanding that all this methane is really abiotic in origin will expose the hoax that is carbon taxes, for as the supply of abiotic methane gas on Earth is unlimited simply because it is not fossil in origin what then is the justification for carbon taxes – please ?

By: Vanamonde

Vanamonde — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:35:20 +0000

Careful. Sir Thomas Gold speaks of huge amount of methane deep within the Earth's mantle of geologic origin – so much more than than all of the oil and gas that exists from biology. Mars could have a source like that.

By: Just a Random thought.

Just a Random thought. — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:06:01 +0000

Have people ever thought that they might be living in the ground like some sort of moles? I mean, they aren't exactly like us. And that could be a possiblity. Like deep down in the dirt. And they live down there instead of on the surface. Have people ever actually like dug holes, deep holes, in Mars anyways?

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:17:25 +0000

I have tertiary syphilis.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:24:08 +0000

Perhaps life is common but intelligent life is not

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:27:05 +0000

Meera,
Would that we should know all as thou.
I humble myself in thy presence.

I'm betting non organic origins. I don't think that Mars supports life at all. Life, at least here, has a way of getting around. If it's there, it's everywhere! If life were so ubiquitous as to be on TWO of our planets, then don't you think there would have been some intelligent life out there somewhere not too distant that we would know about by now?

By: Simon

Simon — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:16:12 +0000

"They have known for ages there is life thriving on that planet."

That is simply bollocks

By: Meera

Meera — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:21:00 +0000

It's also silly to think that NASA is still looking for life on Mars. They have known for ages there is life thriving on that planet.
Besides, what's so hard in sending some hi-tech equipment that was not available in Vikings era (although 2 out of 3 viking experiments in search of extraterrestial life were POSITIVE), so it can easily detect bacteria?
It's not hard at all and it's so obvious that NASA sent some undisclosed equipment to Mars to perform some classified experiments.

By: marcellus

marcellus — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:57:30 +0000

I'd bet a nice cold Schmidt beer that it's little tiny bacterial creatures at Nil Fossae giving off some of the methane.

Could Mars Science Laboratory give us a definitive answer on that?

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:39:20 +0000

Drill there, drill now! A new rationale for going to Mars!

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:05:36 +0000

My bet would be that there are some organisms down there, probably similar to the water bear. Most likely the biosphere would be highly season and far from thriving.
The really interesting question though is what conditions are required for the genesis of such organsims.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:24:42 +0000

"Get it straight: methane on Mars is produced by living organisms, like on Earth as it is the simplest explanation."

That may be the simplest explanation, but to work under the assumption that it's true wouldn't be good science. Remember, the simplest explanation was once "the earth must be flat, or we'd roll off the edge."

By: Meera

Meera — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:49:23 +0000

Isn't it all funny?
Imagine Aliens from different solar system detecting methane on Earth. Logical mind would assume the most probable scenario first: there is life on planet Earth.
Only strange and narrow minded Aliens would be looking at other possibilities FIRST (regardless of how impossible): never seen before chemical reactions, strange explanations etc.
Get it straight: methane on Mars is produced by living organisms, like on Earth as it is the simplest explanation.

By: curious bystander

curious bystander — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:56:46 +0000

Thanks!

[i]Plus, we expect to find methane in the outer solar system in relative abundance in comparison to the inner solar system purely due to the manner in which the solar system formed. Since it is a volatile and photo-dissociates easily, the only place in the solar system where it is relatively stable and could form in abundance is the outer solar system far from the Sun…[/i]

So did the outer solar system's methane all come from the pre-system nebula, and it just never broke down? Or is it still being formed out there?

By: Kevin F.

Kevin F. — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:47:33 +0000

Not exactly. Pehaps at a certan depth under the surface (where its slightly warmer) there are cryogenic lifeforms.

True, dat.

By: Astrofiend

Astrofiend — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:43:20 +0000

"Is methane less prone to breakdown in the outer solar system? I'm guessing the sunlight is not intense enough?"

Yep. Inverse square law and all that – the sunlight is far less intense out there so far less methane photo dissociation occurs.

Plus, we expect to find methane in the outer solar system in relative abundance in comparison to the inner solar system purely due to the manner in which the solar system formed. Since it is a volatile and photo-dissociates easily, the only place in the solar system where it is relatively stable and could form in abundance is the outer solar system far from the Sun, which is why we tend to see it in the outer planets and their moons and not so much on the inner planets…

By: Fst

Fst — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:37:34 +0000

Nili Fossae for the win

By: KG6YRA

KG6YRA — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:05:14 +0000

Kevin F.

(Titan is) "too cold."

Not exactly. Pehaps at a certan depth under the surface (where its slightly warmer) there are cryogenic lifeforms.
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/feb/did-life-evolve-in-ice

By: curious bystander

curious bystander — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:50:48 +0000

Isn't there also methane on Titan, Uranus, Neptune, etc? But suggestions of life on Neptune are few and far between. Is methane less prone to breakdown in the outer solar system? I'm guessing the sunlight is not intense enough?

By: Kevin F.

Kevin F. — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:50:23 +0000

So isn't this tentative proof of life down there….??!!

Not really – Titan has ENORMOUS quantities of methane, and that's probably not biological – it's too cold.

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:28:50 +0000

So isn't this tentative proof of life down there….??!! I hope it's something totally unlike what we have on earth so that if we ever get to it… it will show us what other forms of life are possible in the universe/solar system!!

Although I have to admit I think it's probably a volcano/non living source…