Evidence of life on Europa and Enceladus?

[PopeyesPappy]

Maybe not, but DNA recovered from the 15 million year old ice just above the liquid level of Antarctica's hidden Lake Vostok is good evidence that life is possible on the icy moons.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Ad ... 67221-g003

[Plu]

Not a very good topic title, then. Should be something like "evidence that life is possible on Europa and Enceladus. There's a major difference between the two.

[PopeyesPappy]

You make your thread titles, Plu. I'll make mine.

[Plu]

Sorry. Dislike for when people try to lure someone into a thread with a false promise. And really all other forms of "marketing" related things, I guess.

I don't remember who said it, but it went along the lines of "If the answer to the question in the article of your title can be summed up as   'no', there's a problem with your title."

[Solitary]

Maybe not, but DNA recovered from the 15 million year old ice just above the liquid level of Antarctica's hidden Lake Vostok is good evidence that life is possible on the icy moons.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Ad ... 67221-g003

Just my opinion as always, but unless the moons are active like the earth is I doubt life could exist there.

The planet Earth is said to be active in the sense that it has earthquakes and volcanoes, which are the result of liquid interior layers where convection currents affect the outer crust. Not all planets are like that, and I doubt the moons are.

Earth formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within its first billion years. Earth's biosphere then significantly altered the atmospheric and other basic physical conditions, which enabled the proliferation of organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer, which together with Earth's magnetic field blocked harmful solar radiation, and permitted formerly ocean-confined life to move safely to land. The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, have allowed life to persist. Estimates on how much longer the planet will be able to continue to support life range from 500 million years, to as long as 2.3 billion years.

Solitary

[PopeyesPappy]

Most planetary scientists believe Europa is heated by tidal forces resulting from Jupiter's gravity. It is why most believe it has a liquid water ocean. Europa also has a weak magnetic field which would require movement of or around a conductive metal core.

[Colanth]

I believe it's Europa on which ice volcanoes have been observed.  If not it was Enceladus.  Whichever planet it was, it's pretty active.

[whitefox]

A little off topic here, but the movie Europa Report made me dream a little about how that would be. I would be thrilled if I could live enough years until humanity will find, for the first time, a life form on any other planet or satelite.

[Solitary]

What kind of impact would that have on the bible thumpers? If there is life elsewhere in the universe besides the earth there isn't anything special about the earth accept for humans that believe in magic.  :roll:  I really wish there were aliens from another planet that would land and start laughing at our places of worship and try to convert us to worship the invisible pink unicorn.  :roll:

Solitary

[whitefox]

I think meeting intelligent life would be a huge shock for religious folks. I can imagine them: "what do you mean, jesus who?"

[Colanth]

What kind of impact would that have on the bible thumpers? If there is life elsewhere in the universe besides the earth there isn't anything special about the earth accept for humans that believe in magic.

They'd just "reinterpret" the Bible to show that God created life on more than one planet.

I really wish there were aliens from another planet that would land and start laughing at our places of worship

Aliens so far advanced that even theists wouldn't be able to argue with them.  Showing us a proof (that we couldn't begin to understand) that there can't be any creator of the universe.  Then laughing at those who refuse to accept it, the way you'd laugh at a 2 year old - kindly and indulgently (but so obvious that even theists would get that their superiors were laughing at them).

[stromboli]

I think meeting intelligent life would be a huge shock for religious folks. I can imagine them: "what do you mean, jesus who?"

I doubt it would be that big a shock. Theists can modify their beliefs very easily. Accommodating life on another astral body isn't that big a stretch.