Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: Titanscape on 09/01/2005 19:44:07
-
Nitrogen, liquid methane, carbon and perhaps other minerals, some energy in waves and sunlight and Saturn light, perhaps thermals... Perhaps amino acids. Maybe there is life on Titan, some kind of fish perhaps, what do you fellows think?
Titanscape
-
I think that there could be a sort of inside - out life on Titan.
Cells would form as inside out micelles,dissolved in liquid Methane. biohemical reactions would take place in the hydrophillic interior of the micelles. On earth, cells evolved as micelles with the hydrophobic part on the outside, forming the cell membrane. On Titan, life could have started as a reverse micelle
Marc Andelman
-
I think a fish is a bit much maybe some bacteria, or other single celled organism. Photosynthesis is out of the question as well as aerobic respiration so it looks sort of doubtful unless the life is radically different from most on Earth.
wOw the world spins?
-
But it's very cold on titan - minus 180 degrees C. Unless there is some deep source of heat then any living organism would have to resort to some very strange biochemistry to sustain it, and chemical reactions, under these conditions.
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
-
Would there not be any activity at the core in Titan from gravitational sheer? from Saturn as with Io and Jupiter. This would mean it might be possible for something to live within the rock. Plus is Titan protected by Saturn’s magnetosphere? If not does the Sun play any major effect in irradiating the surface? In the end though we don’t have these conditions on Earth so it is hard to tell what the actual limits of life are. Since many organisms living at the poles have adapted well, and there are whole ecosystems living around deep water thermal vents…
wOw the world spins?