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A new study has just been published that suggests the best places to look for life on the largest moon of Saturn. The conclusion that has been drawn is that the largest craters of the moon show the most promising places that could potentially shelter the bricks of life.
Scientists have long wondered if there is any hidden life on Titan. t be. This moon of Saturn contains an atmosphere composed of methane and nitrogen, and lakes of liquid methane and ethane, large and small, can be found on the surface of Titan, as indicated Phys.org . is known to have quite extreme temperatures of -300 degrees Fahrenheit (-179 degrees Celsius), it's possible that biochemical reactions just never happen. Still, scientists are eager to find out if there is a life opportunity and a team used data and images from the Huygens and Cbadini probes to determine the best places where biological molecules could be hiding on the surface of the body. this moon. [19659004Lascientifiqueplanétairedel'UniversitédeWesternOntarioDrCatherineNeishamenélesrechercheslesplusrécentessurlescachettespossiblesdelaviesurTitanetanotéquelescratèresétaientdeloinlesmeilleursendroitspourcherchercettevie[19659004]. clear winner for three main reasons. First, we are almost sure that there are craters on Titan. The crater is a very common geological process and we see circular features that are almost certainly craters on the surface. "
Where to look for signs of life on #Titan @AstrobiologyMag @astrobiology_jn https://t.co/aJa6xb04Jl
– Phys.org (@physorg_com) July 20, 2018
The second reason that Titan craters would be a great place to look for life is because there would be a significant amount of molten matter in the craters compared to a cryovolcano, which , as Neish explained, is of considerable importance, as craters "take longer to freeze, so that [the water] will remain liquid longer"
Neish also noted that the water temperature inside these craters would be much higher, which would result in much faster chemical reaction rates than those found in a cryovolcano
"The last point is that impact craters should produce water. t at a higher temperature than a cryovolcano. The water can remain liquid in these environments for thousands of years or even longer. When a cryovolcano arises, it usually bursts out just at the melting temperature of the ice, and we think that any "lava" on Titan would be heavily doped with ammonia, which removes a bit of the freezing point that would make the rather cold lava.
However, cryovolcanoes may not even exist on Titan, as Neish quickly added.All scientists can really point to a mountainous region known as Sotra Facula, which may or may not be a cryovolcan
"Sotra Facula is perhaps the best and only example we have of a cryovolcano on Titan. So it's much rarer, if it exists at all. "
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If scientists were to seriously search for life on Titan, the best craters to look for would be Selk, Menrva, and Sinlap, who are by far the most Big Craters Although we can certainly send a probe to Titan to investigate these craters, not all scientists believe that there should be an immediate mission on the largest moon of Saturn, according to Dr. David Grinspoon of the Planetary Science Institute
"We do not know where to look even with results like this. I would not use it to guide our next mission to Titan. It's premature. Because there is so little we really know about the planet, it makes more sense to characterize a range of environments. "
The new study on the best places to search for life on Titan was published in
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