Scientists find potential evidence of methanogenesis, a biological process, on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. By Becky Ferreira | MOTHERBOARD The ocean interior of Saturn’s moon Enceladus may have the “temperatures and chemical energy sources necessary for habitable conditions,” according to new research published in Science on Thursday. This major finding is the result of an extremely […]
via Aquatic Methane-Breathing Aliens Could Be Chilling on Enceladus — Brights – Die Natur des Zweifels
« They look at us. » That is the impression that we could have two bright spots side by side on Ceres appeared on the photo taken at 46,000 miles away, on 19 February. The dwarf planet in only had in previous vigils. The tweet says it is a « variable » stain.
« Puzzling ‘bright spot’ on dwarf planet #Ceres has dimmer companion. Détails: http://t.co/nqNnkChQRk@NASA_Dawnpic.twitter.com/CzB2xiXXN9
An « unexpected and mysterious » event
Chriss Russell, the charge of the Dawn mission, the spacecraft that took the photo, provided the following explanation: « The bright spot now has a companion of a lesser brightness, but apparently in the same crater. This may indicate a similar origin to volcanism, but it will be a better resolution before making such geological interpretations « >> Read:. A mysterious radio signal came from ailleursLe responsible for the shooting, Andreas Nathues adds that » the bright spot is too small for the camera, but despite its size, it is brighter than anything else on Ceres. This is really unexpected and it remains a mystery to us. « Dawn should take new pictures in March which may help to find answers to this.
What created this unusual hole in Mars? The hole was discovered by chance on images of the dusty slopes of Mars’ Pavonis Mons volcano taken by the HiRISE instrument aboard the robotic Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter currently circling Mars. The hole appears to be an opening to an underground cavern, partly illuminated on the image right. Analysis of this and follow-up images revealed the opening to be about 35 meters across, while the interior shadow angle indicates that the underlying cavern is roughly 20 meters deep. Why there is a circular crater surrounding this hole remains a topic of speculation, as is the full extent of the underlying cavern. Holes such as this are of particular interest because their interior caves are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life. These pits are therefore prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers.
Sources: http://www.nasa.gov/ ,http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ ,http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/
