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Astronomers Find A Key Molecule For The Formation Of Micro-organisms In The Atmosphere Of Titan
Scientists
have made yet another sensational discovery in the search for alien life in our
solar system. Astronomers have now found a key molecule for the formation of
microorganisms in the atmosphere of Titan, one of Saturn’s largest moons.
The
international Cassini-Huygens mission has made a groundbreaking detection of a
molecule that is fundamental in the production of complex organics inside the
hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon Titan.
The ESA
Cassini spacecraft has detected by surprise, in the hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s
moon Titan, a particular type of negatively charged molecule that is
fundamental in the production of complex organic molecules.
Titan,
mankind’s next stop?
There are
many mysterious surrounding Saturn’s largest moon Titan, the second largest of
the Solar System, after Ganymede.
Close-up
radar image showing both empty and liquid-filled depressions (colored blue) on
Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. The radar image was created using data collected
by the international Cassini spacecraft. Image Credit: ESA.INT
Composed mainly of ice and rocks, Titan has a diameter 50% larger than the Moon and is 80% more massive. Its atmosphere, composed mostly of nitrogen and methane, is dense and opaque. Something that has prevented scientists from being able to take a peek at its surface until relatively recently.
Recent
research has allowed astronomers to learn more about the alien moon.
Its
geologically young surface is a rocky wasteland, covered here and there by a
few hydrocarbon lakes.
The
cryogenic volcanoes are another of the trademarks of Titan’s landscape.
Around 100
kilometers below the surface, scientists postulate that there could be a sea
composed mainly of water and ammonia, although it is still unknown whether it
harbors some type of life, either unicellular or multicellular.
Graphic
depicting some of the chemical reactions taking place in Titan’s atmosphere
that lead to the generation of organic haze particles. Credit: ESA
But for us
to speak about the latest discovery made by Cassini, we must not look at
Titan’s surface and landscape, but direct our gaze to the heights, because it
is in Titan’s atmosphere that new and interesting finds have been made.
In a study
published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientists have discovered a
chemical called “carbon chain anion,” a linear molecule that is often part of
other more complex molecules that are based on the oldest forms of life on
Earth.
The
discoveries were made thanks to Cassini’s plasma spectrometer, called CAPS,
while the spacecraft traversed Titan’s high atmosphere, between 950 and 1,300
kilometers above the surface.
“We have made the first unambiguous identification of carbon chain anions in a planet-like atmosphere, which we believe are a vital stepping-stone in the production line of growing bigger, and more complex organic molecules, such as the moon’s large haze particles,” says Ravi Desai of University College London and lead author of the study.“This is a known process in the interstellar medium, but now we’ve seen it in an entirely different environment, meaning it could represent a universal process for producing complex organic molecules.”“The question here is, could it also be occurring within other nitrogen-methane atmospheres like Pluto or Triton, or at exoplanets which contain similar properties?”“The possibility of a universal pathway towards the ingredients for life has implications for what we should search for in the quest for life in the Universe,” says co-author Andrew Coates, also from UCL, and co-investigator of CAPS.“Titan has a local example of exciting and exotic chemistry, from which we have much to learn.”And while many mysteries are yet to be revealed under Titan’s misty, cold mantle, great progress is made with every new mission.
The only
thing we can say is certain is that thanks to studies and exploration of this
type, science is closer to determining what life is and how it reproduces
itself in the unfathomable and enigmatic sidereal space.
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