• Philae detects organic molecules on comet surface
    46 replies, posted
[quote]The Philae lander has detected organic molecules on the surface of its comet, scientists have confirmed. Carbon-containing "organics" are the basis of life on Earth and may give clues to chemical ingredients delivered to our planet early in its history. The compounds were picked up by a German-built instrument designed to "sniff" the comet's thin atmosphere. Other analyses suggest the comet's surface is largely water-ice covered with a thin dust layer. The European Space Agency (Esa) craft touched down on the Comet 67P on 12 November after a 10-year journey. Dr Fred Goessmann, principal investigator on the Cosac instrument, which made the organics detection, confirmed the find to BBC News. But he added that the team was still trying to interpret the results. It has not been disclosed which molecules have been found, or how complex they are.[/quote] [url]http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30097648[/url]
God speed little space man
What is defined as a molecule? going to remain skeptical as it could be contamination from the lander itself
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;46521051]What is defined as a molecule? going to remain skeptical as it could be contamination from the lander itself[/QUOTE] I believe the scientists would be able to tell.
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;46521051]What is defined as a molecule?[/QUOTE] Pretty sure the definition of a molecule is fairly concrete
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;46521051]What is defined as a molecule? going to remain skeptical as it could be contamination from the lander itself[/QUOTE] A molecule is an electrically neutral compound of two or more atoms.
14 years into the turn of the 21st century and we've already essentially parallel parked in NYC during rush hour; only it was a parallel park onto a FUCKING comet orbiting around our solar system As bill nye would say; science rules [editline]18th November 2014[/editline] wonder if the molecules will provide insight on how we're made of star stuff
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;46521051]What is defined as a molecule? going to remain skeptical as it could be contamination from the lander itself[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;46521120]Pretty sure the definition of a molecule is fairly concrete[/QUOTE] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_compound]An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon (such as CO and CO2), and cyanides are considered inorganic.[1] The distinction between organic and inorganic carbon compounds, while "useful in organizing the vast subject of chemistry... is somewhat arbitrary."[2][/url]
This is an amazing find. Panspermia advocates would be going nuts over this news.
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;46521208]Isnt NH4+ a molecule though? Or does it have another name?[/QUOTE] That's an ion.
[QUOTE=Kite_shugo;46521158]14 years into the turn of the [b]2nd century[/b] and we've already essentially parallel parked in NYC during rush hour[/QUOTE] Time flies when you're having fun, huh?
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;46521208]Isnt NH4+ a molecule though? Or does it have another name?[/QUOTE]Polyatomic ion. On topic, presence of organic molecules don't exactly mean much, other than the comet has carbon in it's composition.
[QUOTE=Bradyns;46521215]This is an amazing find. Panspermia advocates would be going nuts over this news.[/QUOTE] Panspermia just delays the inevitable question of how complex organic structures can form from non-living molecules. It still needs to prove abiogenesis.
I'm still rather sad about Philae running out of power. This is an amazing find, however.
[QUOTE=Bradyns;46521215]This is an amazing find. Panspermia advocates would be going nuts over this news.[/QUOTE] Not necessarily as this is most likely methane and we know certain bodies of our solar system (Titan) have literally oceans of methane on them. Organic molecules do not have to be of organic origin at all and they occur naturally on planets. [editline]18th November 2014[/editline] I mean, lets get real, this likely isn't really groundbreaking at all [quote=wiki fucking pedia] The solid, core structure of a comet is known as the nucleus. Cometary nuclei are composed of an amalgamation of rock, dust, water ice, and frozen gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and ammonia.[15] As such, they are popularly described as "dirty snowballs" after Fred Whipple's model.[16] However, some comets may have a higher dust content, leading them to be called "icy dirtballs".[17] The surface of the nucleus is generally dry, dusty or rocky, suggesting that the ices are hidden beneath a surface crust several metres thick. [B]In addition to the gases already mentioned, the nuclei contain a variety of organic compounds, which may include methanol, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, ethanol, and ethane and perhaps more complex molecules such as long-chain hydrocarbons and amino acids.[18][19] In 2009, it was confirmed that the amino acid glycine had been found in the comet dust recovered by NASA's Stardust mission.[/B][20] In August 2011, a report, based on NASA studies of meteorites found on Earth, was published suggesting DNA and RNA components (adenine, guanine, and related organic molecules) may have been formed on asteroids and comets.[21][22][/quote] This find is most probably nothing but "yep, this comet is much like the others".
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;46521245]Not necessarily as this is most likely methane and we know certain bodies of our solar system (Titan) have literally oceans of methane on them. Organic molecules do not have to be of organic origin at all and they occur naturally on planets. [editline]18th November 2014[/editline] I mean, lets get real, this isn't really groundbreaking at all This find is most probably nothing but "yep, this comet is much like the others".[/QUOTE] There's organic molecules all over the place, but to find them on an object that can potentially collide with planets is a whole different kettle of fish.
[QUOTE=Bradyns;46521288]There's organic molecules all over the place, but to find them on an object that can potentially collide with planets is a whole different kettle of fish.[/QUOTE] Read the Wiki quote. We knew for years that comets are full of the crap.
[QUOTE=Cheshire_cat;46521221]Time flies when you're having fun, huh?[/QUOTE] Oh god you're right
To clarify, when we say "organic molecules" we're talking about molecules that are necessary to form living structures, but the molecules themselves do not indicate the presence of any organism at any time?
The comet contains molecules that are used to build protein chains but if lightning strikes water in an oxygen free environment a minute portion of that water becomes protein chains. Comets help, but aren't required for the creation of life.
[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;46521387]To clarify, when we say "organic molecules" we're talking about molecules that are necessary to form living structures, but the molecules themselves do not indicate the presence of any organism at any time?[/QUOTE] Correct. If it's simple organic molecules like methane, this is basically a non-story. If it's something more complex, like an amino acid, now that's a bigger deal.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesnt organic in this context simply mean carbon bearing? If thats the case then it's really not that stellar of a find.
[QUOTE=gman003-main;46521453]Correct. If it's simple organic molecules like methane, this is basically a non-story. If it's something more complex, like an amino acid, now that's a bigger deal.[/QUOTE] In the perfect situation the data would hold evidence of preserved single-cell organisms. We can only dream though [editline]18th November 2014[/editline] Thinking about that I'm not sure what that'd mean besides life on Earth might be "alien"
So it's just like the intro of Spore?
[QUOTE=Kite_shugo;46521158]14 years into the turn of the 20th century[/QUOTE] thats 1914
So did we just technically find alien life? Extraterrestial life, whatever
[QUOTE=ZakkShock;46521601]So did we just technically find alien life? Extraterrestial life, whatever[/QUOTE] No. We just found "organic" molecules which, if I'm understanding this correctly simply means they have carbon in them
[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;46521387]To clarify, when we say "organic molecules" we're talking about molecules that are necessary to form living structures, but the molecules themselves do not indicate the presence of any organism at any time?[/QUOTE] yes. organic molecules can easily be produced by inorganic means. for example, [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment"]miller and urey's experiment[/URL] demonstrated that under certain atmospheric conditions an electric spark (in the context of theories about the conditions early earth, a lightning strike) is a significant enough energy input to form all 20 of the amino acids used by living creatures in protein synthesis. many of the constituent/precursor molecules were produced naturally via volcanic emissions.
get hype for aliums
[QUOTE=AK'z;46521560]thats 1914[/QUOTE] Welp. That's enough mobile posting for me
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