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The Mystery of the Missing Methane
Hugh Pickens writes "Astrobiology Magazine reports that NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered something odd about GJ 436b, a planet about the size of Neptune located 33 light-years away, circling the star Gliese 436. The mystery? GJ 436b lacks methane, an ingredient common to many of the planets in our solar system. Methane is present on our life-bearing planet, manufactured primarily by microbes living in cows, and all of the giant planets in our solar system have methane too, despite their lack of cows. Spitzer was able to detect the faint glow of GJ 436b by watching it slip behind its star, an event called a secondary eclipse. As the planet disappears, the total light observed from the star system drops, and the diference is then measured to find the brightness of the planet at various wavelengths. Eventually, a larger space telescope could use the same kind of technique to search smaller, Earth-like worlds for methane and other chemical signs of life, such as water, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Adam Showman, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, says the 'provocative result' raises questions about the evolution of this planet, as well as the possibility that its atmosphere might represent an entirely new class of atmospheres that has never been explored."
We don't know that for sure. We haven't been to the surface of any of these planets. I believe more study is needed.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
Methane is an important source of energy. Obviously there's an alien species which has used up all the methane from that planet.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Methane is present on our life-bearing planet, manufactured primarily by microbes living in cows, and all of the giant planets in our solar system have methane too, despite their lack of cows.
Why are cows focused on so much when it comes to methane? The only study I can find lists livestock making up only 19% as a source of atmospheric methane. That's little more than our industrial energy sector production and about half as much as our wetlands produce. From NOAA:
Rapidly growing industrialization in Asia and rising wetland emissions in the Arctic and tropics are the most likely causes of the recent methane increase, said scientist Ed Dlugokencky from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory.
My work here is dung.
Just let me finish my burrito...
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Adam Showman talking about a provocative result eh? Who is surprised? I mean what else could you expect from the father of all show men?
Hello Earth,
This is your distant neighbor GJ-436b. We need some cows immediately, for we are completely out of methane. Without methane, we cannot create barbecue lighters, and thus no Forth of Snibbej parties.
We have made some financial arrangements with a Nigerian prince who has agreed to...
Table-ized A.I.
From TFA I take it that such a kind of atmosphere is not in chemical equilibrium given its pressure and temperature. The interesting question is what actually causes such disequilibrium conditions on a planetary scale. Massive tectonic activity? Constant bombardment with a metric shitload of comets altering the composition? Life?
Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
Is this a sign of life? The calculations for how much methane should be in the atmosphere are based off what results in a chemical equilibrium. However, active metabolic entities (life) can move things very far off equilibrium. Thus, for example, Earth has a lot more oxygen in the atmosphere than would be expected from a simple set of equilibrium calculations. So, an observer could tentatively conclude that something weird, such as plant life, might be about. This imbalance between the expected and observed methane levels may be due to extraterrestrial life.
See, we shouldn't have sent that message, "HEY GUYS WE GOTS METHANE!" In another few thousand years they're coming for our cows!
Maybe they invented non-farting cows.
rewriting history since 2109
Considering most models have a sample size of a single solar system and they are still being tweaked to explain that one.
I expect the definitions of equilibriums and disequilibriums will be redefined as will planetary classes so all bets are off or on if you will.
The planetary atmosphere is at disequilibrium for a single observation. Because I observe during (or just after) a volcanic eruption or a meteor impact or a CME or a nuclear war ;) am I to assume it's always that way?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
The possibility exists for Sagan's floating Jovian gasbags.
The good thing is, even if they are intelligent, I doubt that life evolved on a gas giant would ever be able to make technology and be Hawking's conquering aliens.
And I'd have gotten away with it too - if it weren't for those pesky kids!
"despite the lack of cows" - I like it. It's a good analogy. However, cows would need oxygen too. And it's not the cows' fault!
It's a lack of Taco Bell franchises.
This ain't rocket surgery.
The Aliens took it on their way here. They needed the fuel resource. See Steven Hawkins story about not talking to the aliens when the get here.
BTW, the earth is leaking Methane as its been discovered that it wasn't cows causing increased methane here.
I believe the "possibility" statement is true, because the poster ranting above displays a startling lack of life, much less intelligence.
The methane is gone because an Alien race that lived on the planet used it all. This is a clear sign of life. Nobel Prize please.
No one said those microorganisms are still alive. If they are all dead, there isn't life.
kc8apf
Where are Scoob and Shag when you need them?
If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
"manufactured primarily by microbes living in cows, and all of the giant planets in our solar system have methane too, despite their lack of cows"
How do you know the giant planets don't have cows? Have you been to them?
At the least we know they fart.
I'm here for the experience, not the Hyperbole.
SCNR ;-)
And the mistake was to miss the word "advanced" in "advanced life", just accept that comments on Slashdot sometimes do contain mistakes.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
This planet has got to be populated by nothing but women. Nobody farts!
You must be new here. Grammar Nazi's get so fucking caught up on the most trivial of errors they can't actually read and comprehend posts, let alone have enough understanding to mentally fill in words that were whiffed by the OP by should logically have been included.
*Trap is set*
"...that its atmosphere might represent an entirely new class of atmospheres that has never been explored." Reminds me of an old quote: "The Universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we CAN imagine."
"Alien Cows do not Produce Methane"
why the cows are focused so much? Window
I submitted that one several days ago!
Bah! Humbug!
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
I could not be able to sleep last night becaus this information is very important for me.