methane on mars = life ?

here is methane on Mars, scientists have concluded from the latest data. And one group of researchers argue there may be a lot more methane being produced than previously thought.

Methane is of great interest because on Earth, almost all of it comes from living things - everything from rotting plants to bovine flatulence. But there are other possible sources of methane on Mars.

aliens are farting

but seriously can this mean life your thoughts welcome

no i dont think so, methane is kind of common the farther you go out in the solar system, scientists are just getting more acurate insterments that allow the to see more methane making them think there is more there than before

Actually, the presence of methane on Mars could very possibly be an indicator of current biological activity, as there are zero signs of martian vulcanism.

The ESA hinted that they also had found indications of Ammonia and formaldehyde as well, but quickly backed off, as confirmed presence of these substances would basically confirm martian life.

Do you have a link to the article klain?

www.newscientist.com...

heres the link loads of scientists think that at the poles of mars under the ground there is ice (frozen water not any liquid gas) heard of lake vostok well for those who dont know its a lake in antartica under the ice about 1 mile or so down the lake is 30 0c sheilded from above maybe we will find life underneath the planet and this is where this gas is coming from

and yes i did read it says in the link that its a metorite hit but if it is it has'nt been well documented

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Here may be some very strong evidence of living Mars organisms.
Frozen sea on Mars linked to elevated methane

. . . , Vittorio Formisano, chief scientist for Mars Express's Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) which measures the composition of gases in the planet's atmosphere, commented: "Elysium Planitia is indeed the region where we have seen the maximum of methane coming out of the surface."

It is speculated that these ice deposits were preserved by volcanic ash on top of it.
'Pack ice' suggests frozen sea on Mars

I am actually getting excited about it. This would be incredible news.

Past life yes, but possibly more amazingly organisms alive there right now.
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methane onsists a small percantage of earth's air and could therefore be developp on other planets as for the origin of methane where no life exists is unknown it is possible that it goes back to the creation of mars...

i don't think this is a proof, it's more like a little hint that could possibly lead to something ... smart post

Methane can be present only by two factors.
Geological activity or/and life-forms.
Methane is broken down by sunlight, so if there is methane present at the moment it has been produced recently.
As an extra it is found not equally distibuted but is found more concentrated in some spots.



What I would like to see is a map which correlates the water distibution, methane distribution and the magnetic field distribution.

[edit on 2-3-2005 by Stefan]