* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Next steps: Technology opens new options for greater mobility – Missouri Independent

    Next Steps: How Technology is Opening Exciting New Doors to Greater Mobility

    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Next steps: Technology opens new options for greater mobility – Missouri Independent

    Next Steps: How Technology is Opening Exciting New Doors to Greater Mobility

    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Saturn’s ocean moon Titan may not be able to support life after all

February 16, 2024
in Science
Saturn’s ocean moon Titan may not be able to support life after all
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

saturn hangs huge, the shadows of its rings striping its lower half. a moon hangs before the giant's body, sliced by the thin line of rings behind.

Titan is seen here as it orbits Saturn.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Titan’s underground ocean, and similar oceans inside other icy moons in the outer solar system, may lack the organic chemistry necessary for life, according to new astrobiological research.

Titan is Saturn’s largest moon, and the second largest moon in the entire solar system. It’s famous for being shrouded in a smog of petrochemicals and for possessing a veritable soup of organic molecules — molecules that contain carbon — on its surface. Yet, despite all this fascinating chemistry, Titan is cold. Very cold. It has surface temperatures no warmer than –179 degrees Celsius (–290 degrees Fahrenheit). And in these frigid conditions, chemical reactions for life progress very slowly.

However, deep underground where it’s warmer — the exact depth is not certain, but estimates suggest it’s on the order of 100 kilometers (62 miles) — a liquid ocean with a volume 12 times that of Earth’s oceans combined is thought to exist. Similar oceans inhabit the interiors of Titan’s fellow Saturnian moon Enceladus, and Jupiter’s moons Europa and Ganymede. 

Related: Subsurface ocean tides on Saturn’s moon Titan are influenced by its icy crust

And where there is liquid water, there could be life. Right? Not so fast, says Catherine Neish of Western University in Ontario, Canada. 

A planetary scientist, Neish led an international team that challenged the assumption Titan’s ocean, and indeed the oceans of other icy moons, could be habitable.

The researchers worked on the basis that, for Titan’s ocean to be habitable, a large supply of organic molecules from the surface must be able to physically reach the ocean in order to facilitate prebiotic chemistry that can produce and feed life.

The route for this organic material to reach the ocean is via comet impacts. Such impacts can melt surface ice, creating a pool of liquid water filled with organic molecules. Because liquid water is denser than ice, it sinks. But, Neish’s modeling found that the rate of impacts is not high enough for sufficient organic material to reach Titan’s ocean.

a dark orange/brown planet is cut open to show different layers.

A diagram showing the interior of Saturn’s moon diagram, including its deep ocean.  (Image credit: A. D. Fortes/UCL/STFC)

For example, Neish’s team estimates only about 7,500 kilograms (16,534 pounds) of the simplest amino acid, glycine, reaches Titan’s ocean every year. It may sound like a lot, but that’s equivalent to the mass of one male African elephant spread across an ocean with a dozen times the volume of Earth’s oceans. If you’ll excuse the pun, it’s barely a drop in the ocean.

“We assumed that the majority of melt deposits — 65% — would sink all the way to the ocean,” Neish told Space.com. “Recent modeling work suggests that this is very likely an overestimate, but even in this most optimistic scenario, there is not enough organics moving into Titan’s ocean to support life there.”

There may be other possibilities. On Europa, where there are very few organic molecules on the surface, it is postulated that hydrothermal vents may exist on the seafloor where the ocean comes into contact with the moon’s rocky core. These vents would spew all kinds of molecules and trigger complex chemical reactions that could support life. Further evidence for carbon in Europa’s ocean has been discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope. The JWST identified carbon dioxide that has welled up from the ocean onto Europa’s surface.

So, could the same happen on Titan, with organic material coming from the moon’s interior, rather than its surface?

a long, silver chrome drone with six body-level propellers resembles a dragonfly. it flies over a pink/tan sandy dune landscape.

An artist’s impression of Dragonfly, which is a ‘quad-copter’ that will head to Saturn’s moon Titan in 2028  (Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben)

Neish doesn’t rule it out, saying that colleagues such as Kelly Miller at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, are investigating the possibility — but Neish does highlight one particular caveat.

“One concern that has come up is whether the organics sourced from the interior would be useful for life,” she said. “We think they may be primarily aromatic compounds, and it is difficult to form biomolecules — such as amino acids — from such compounds.”

While we are still some ways away from being able to probe the oceans of these icy moons directly to say for certain whether they contain life or not, Neish’s research does raise some promising opportunities for NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Titan, on which Neish is a co-investigator.

Dragonfly is a helicopter mission, inspired in part by the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, which is planned to launch in 2028 for arrival on Titan in 2034. It will explore the moon from the air, touching down to take samples for analysis. If Neish’s work is correct, it’d mean there could be many impact sites on the surface where liquid water mixed with organics, possibly sparking some complex chemistry before freezing again and sinking. By studying these sites, scientists could learn more about the prebiotic chemistry that went all the way to forming life on Earth.

The findings from Neish’s team were published on 2nd February in the journal Astrobiology.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He’s the author of “The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Space.com – https://www.space.com/titan-ocean-saturn-moon-inhospitable-life-earth-study

Tags: OceanSaturn'sscience
Previous Post

China eyes May 2024 launch for 1st-ever lunar sample-return mission to moon’s far side

Next Post

Save 30% on the absolutely massive Lego Marvel Hulkbuster

Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik investigated for bullying following death of grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky – CNN

Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik Under Investigation Amid Tragic Loss of Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky

October 23, 2025
Trump approval on economy hits new low: Quinnipiac poll – The Hill

Trump’s Economic Approval Hits Historic Low in Shocking New Poll

October 23, 2025
‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

October 23, 2025
WHO launches new country guidance for health emergency coordination – World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO Launches Bold New Global Guidelines to Revolutionize Health Emergency Coordination

October 23, 2025
Gettysburg suffers damage as advocates ask public to be vigilant during shutdown – CNN

Gettysburg Endures Damage as Advocates Call for Public Vigilance Amid Shutdown

October 23, 2025
Vibrio pectenicida strain FHCF-3 is a causative agent of sea star wasting disease – Nature

Vibrio pectenicida strain FHCF-3 is a causative agent of sea star wasting disease – Nature

October 23, 2025
Condensation defying gravity – European Space Agency

Condensation defying gravity – European Space Agency

October 23, 2025
Guest educators bring fun environmental science to Kent middle school – MyEasternShoreMD

Guest Educators Ignite Passion for Environmental Science at Kent Middle School

October 23, 2025
Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. Profit Rises In Q3, Beats Estimates – Nasdaq

Equity Lifestyle Properties Delivers Impressive Q3 Profit, Exceeding All Expectations

October 23, 2025
Next steps: Technology opens new options for greater mobility – Missouri Independent

Next Steps: How Technology is Opening Exciting New Doors to Greater Mobility

October 23, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (882)
  • Economy (904)
  • Entertainment (21,775)
  • General (17,762)
  • Health (9,945)
  • Lifestyle (916)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (904)
  • Politics (914)
  • Science (16,114)
  • Sports (21,403)
  • Technology (15,883)
  • World (887)

Recent News

Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik investigated for bullying following death of grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky – CNN

Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik Under Investigation Amid Tragic Loss of Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky

October 23, 2025
Trump approval on economy hits new low: Quinnipiac poll – The Hill

Trump’s Economic Approval Hits Historic Low in Shocking New Poll

October 23, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version