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from the are-they-labeled-as-organic? dept.
Scientists using imagery from the Dawn spacecraft have found evidence of organic material on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres:
NASA's Dawn mission has found evidence for organic material on Ceres, a dwarf planet and the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists using the spacecraft's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) detected the material in and around a northern-hemisphere crater called Ernutet. Organic molecules are interesting to scientists because they are necessary, though not sufficient, components of life on Earth.
[...] "This is the first clear detection of organic molecules from orbit on a main belt body," said Maria Cristina De Sanctis, lead author of the study, based at the National Institute of Astrophysics, Rome. The discovery is reported in the journal Science. Data presented in the Science paper support the idea that the organic materials are native to Ceres. The carbonates and clays previously identified on Ceres provide evidence for chemical activity in the presence of water and heat. This raises the possibility that the organics were similarly processed in a warm water-rich environment.
[...] Having completed nearly two years of observations in orbit at Ceres, Dawn is now in a highly elliptical orbit at Ceres, going from an altitude of 4,670 miles (7,520 kilometers) up to almost 5,810 miles (9,350 kilometers). On Feb. 23, it will make its way to a new altitude of around 12,400 miles (20,000 kilometers), about the height of GPS satellites above Earth, and to a different orbital plane. This will put Dawn in a position to study Ceres in a new geometry. In late spring, Dawn will view Ceres with the sun directly behind the spacecraft, such that Ceres will appear brighter than before, and perhaps reveal more clues about its nature.
Localized aliphatic organic material on the surface of Ceres (DOI: 10.1126/science.aaj2305) (DX)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by theluggage on Saturday February 18 2017, @11:21PM
I mean, we can't produce abiogenesis, so it seems to me that for it to come about by accident must take a monumental bit of coincidence.
...and the universe has provided a colossal span of time and a ridiculous number of chances for that monumental coincidence to come about. We've had a blink of the cosmic eye in a handful of labs. For that coincidence to have only happened once would be a vastly greater coincidence - its the mediocrity principle [wikipedia.org] and to insist that we could be the only, or first life is something of a Russel's teapot [wikipedia.org].
The whole "space is really big" thing clearly hasn't sunk in. Nor has the Carl Sagan talk about how, if the age of the universe was a year, recorded history would occupy the last second before midnight. You'll know when you get it - you'll have the sudden urge to scream and hide under the bedclothes, followed by a sudden feeling of affinity with any bugs you've stomped on in your life.
The extrordinary discovery would be that we were alone, which would leave us way, way out on a limb of the probability curve. Of course, that's pretty much impossible to prove, and can only be disproved by finding life. The "null hypothesis" has to be that we are not alone.
Now, whether the nearest life is close enough for us to stand any chance of detecting it is another matter. However, a decade or two ago, we hadn't even detected any extrasolar planets (although, again, the only real surprise would have been if they weren't there).
(Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday February 19 2017, @08:36AM
Also, the transit time of any communications.
Do we even yet have the power to transmit that far, the sensitivity to detect their transmissions, or the knowledge of what to look for?
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday February 20 2017, @08:08PM
I agree that the chances that we are alone are almost nonexistent according to what we know, but we don't know everything.
Also, even if we don't ever find evidence of life doesn't mean it doesn't exist. In fact, that's central to my latest SF. In the story, they've found lots of life but no sentience, and one of the biologists wonders why (spoiler: they hide).
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org