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Life on Pluto?

Posted by chrisd on from the life-on-earth-to-follow dept.

EccentricAnomaly writes "The BBC is reporting that new models of icy moons in the outer solar system predict that oceans (as in liquid water oceans) may be much more common than previously thought. Even Pluto and Neptune's moon Triton now appear to be good candidates for a liquid ocean under their ice. This is exciting because life has been found on Earth in environments similar to these icy oceans at Antarctica's Lake Vostok."

7 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. Similar? by targo · · Score: 5, Informative

    Check out this temperature comparison site.
    Basically it says that the coldest spot on earth is -128 F (-89 C, 184 K), while Pluto's surface temperature is -378 to -396 F (-228 to -238 C, 35 to 45 K), air actually turns liquid at this point.
    So this makes it quite different for any practical purposes.
    The article itself also mentions that the water (if any) is probably under 100 miles of ice, which makes Antarctica infinitely more hospitable and accessible.

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  2. is it so hard to believe? by geek · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't think life is as rare as people think. I mean even fire by some peoples standards is alive (it eats, breaths and reproduces). Fire is abundant in the univers correct? Semantics aside, it seems to me that life will exist where ever it CAN exist. Life is persistent whether it be conscious or not (plant life). Look at all the seemingly inhabitable place here on earth, bottom of the ocean being just one. Whether it be cold or hot, life finds a way.

    So why is it people think this isn't the case on other celestial bodies? If we were smart we would assume it did exist elsewhere. Our ancestors cynically thought the world was flat, that the universe revolved around our Earth etc.. You would think we would have learned something. Earth isn't special. It's one planet out of trillions out there. We may be the first civilized race in the Universe, or we may be the last, most likely somewhere in the middle.

    How long before we figure it all out? I doubt we ever will.

  3. Re:Life by l810c · · Score: 3, Informative
    We got to the moon, didn't find any life there.

    Every place on earth that certain conditions exist, there is life. The moon is sterile and does not have these conditions. We are finding more and more places that harbor life. Thermal vents in the ocean that are greater than 212F. I watched a PBS special tonight that explained how several of the caves near Carlsbad cavern where created by sulfuric acid which was the by product of microbes that ate oil. It's going to be interesting to see what's in the bottom of the lake in Antartica.

    Whether your into Creation, Spontaneous Evolution or Seeding there are places on these moons for life to live and prosper.

  4. The BBC Planets Series by Drunken+Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I just watched the BBC series on the planets of our solar system, and I have to say, I would now find it really hard to believe that there could be any sort of liquid water on Triton. Triton supposedly has the heaviest winds in the solar system (up to 1000 MPH!) but it also has a solid nitrogen surface. The only geological activity detected was liquid nitrogen geysers bursting through the surface caused by pressure buildup. So if underneath the surface is liquid nitrogen, I don't care how much deeper you go, the planet is not big enough to be able to go deep enough into the core to find temperatures in the range suitable for liquid water.

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  5. Vostok not breached yet... by dargaud · · Score: 5, Informative
    Life has NOT been found in Vostok lake (yet). The ice coring has been stopped 50 meters from the lake which is 4km under the ice to avoid contamination until a method can be found to decontaminate the drill.

    Radar images of Antarctica, including Vostok.

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  6. What NASA has to say... by Jugalator · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's an overview at JPL.

    Basically, they say traces of water vapor can be found in the Sun, to water ice at Pluto and beyond in the Kupier Belt. Water ice can also be found in comets, and some water on earth is thought to be from such comets.

    However, only liquid water is life enabling, where the best candidates for this are Mars (beneath the surface) and below the icy surfaces on the largest of Jupiter's moons, especially Europa (Europa ice crust). The reason Europa might support life is because Jupiter's huge gravity likely affects the moon creating great forces similar to the tidal waves on earth, which could warm the moon.

    If you ask me, the Europa shots look far more interesting to me. And Europa is easier to reach than Pluto anyway. :)

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  7. Many candidates by Lispy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, life seems to be quite common.
    Let me count the potential candidates i heard of so far:

    - Earth
    - Mars
    - Venus
    - Europa (no, not the continent you US-centric /.ers)
    - and now even Pluto...i def counted this one out.

    My guess was always that life must be a rather common thing. If you look at all the impossible places where life found its way on Planet Earth...