Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Titan Occupies A Solar System Sweet Spot

Posted by Zonk on from the i-had-dibs dept.

SocietyoftheFist writes "From an article on the BBC website, scientists have determined that Titan occupies a 'sweet spot' much like Earth. Venus is the same size as Earth but too hot so water boiled off long ago ending most geologic processes. Mars is too small to generate enough heat to keep water from freezing so it too slowed down geologically. Titan is much like the Earth with winds, rains and tectonic forces but instead of water it has an abundance of methane. Methane is liquid at the temperatures found in Titan's atmosphere and replaces water in the equation."

3 of 243 comments (clear)

  1. Re:methane? by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You're thinking too narrowly - not all life has to be carbon-based, mostly water, and oxygen-breathing.

  2. Re:Methane doesn't replace water. by myowntrueself · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Then theres the lipid bi-layer that forms the cell membrane.

    Is there any analog of a lipid in methane? One which can form a bi-layer bubble?

    --
    In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  3. Re:Methane doesn't replace water. by Shimmer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The thing with life is, once it has started its' complexity will rise with the next generations

    This is a fallacy. There is no inherent trend towards complexity. Evolution progresses only towards adaptedness, even if it means that the next generation is simpler than the current one.

    --
    The most rabid believers in American Exceptionalism are the exact same people whose policies are destroying it.