Weird' Molecule Detected on Titan Has Never Been Found in Any Atmosphere

A molecule called cyclopropenylidene has been detected on Titan, one of Saturns moons. The thing is, this molecule hasn't been seen anywhere else in the solar system or outside of it. It's a molecule that has only been created in labs on earth.

Titan, the already pretty weird moon of Saturn, just got a little bit weirder. Astronomers have detected cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in its atmosphere - an extremely rare carbon-based molecule that's so reactive, it can only exist on Earth in laboratory conditions.

In fact, it's so rare that it has never before been detected in an atmosphere, in the Solar System or elsewhere. The only other place it can remain stable is the cold void of interstellar space. But it may be a building block for more complex organic molecules that could one day lead to life.

"We think of Titan as a real-life laboratory where we can see similar chemistry to that of ancient Earth when life was taking hold here," said astrobiologist Melissa Trainer of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, one of the chief scientists set to investigate the moon in the upcoming Dragonfly mission launching in 2027.

"We'll be looking for bigger molecules than C3H2, but we need to know what's happening in the atmosphere to understand the chemical reactions that lead complex organic molecules to form and rain down to the surface."

www.sciencealert.com...

I think it's obvious that there's life on other planets. Sadly, we're still primitive when it comes to actually exploring planets, the last time we sent someone to the moon was 1972. It's good we have the Dragonfly mission going to Titan in 2027 if the world lasts that long.

Any thoughts?

a reply to: neoholographic

Great find. I think life is bountiful in the solar system. The search for life is a BIG business. Don't you know how many people will be out of a job once we find life?

a reply to: neoholographic

Great discovery
I'm trying to recall what Sci Fi Novel went into Titan in detail

wiki Sci Fi - Titan
Mars trilogy (1996) by Kim Stanley Robinson. Nitrogen from Titan is used in the Terraforming of Mars.

I think it's obvious that there's life on other planets.

LIfe will find a way

Clarification: ".. the first time this molecule has been detected in a planetary atmosphere."

Primary source

It was already detected in several stellar clouds.

Conclusion:

These new results on cyclic molecules provide fresh constraints on photochemical pathways in Titan's atmosphere, ...

Nice find, thx!

a reply to: neoholographic

Anything that can be made to exist has to exist elsewhere due to infinite expanse of the universe.

Anything that can happen has, does, and will continue to happen in an infinite loop.

The frequency of the moon coupled with certain other energy and magnetic traits can cause molecules to be formed that do not form on other planets or moons. It can also mean that they do not break down as quickly or can remain stable There could also be an element there that stimulates the creation of this molecule and protects it from breakdown.

It is not strange that different molecular patterns would form under different conditions. Identifying this new molecule being there is important though, it will help us to understand the universe more and help with evolution of the understanding that we know little of what actually exists.

originally posted by: lostbook
a reply to: neoholographic

Great find. I think life is bountiful in the solar system. The search for life is a BIG business. Don't you know how many people will be out of a job once we find life?

Good points!

I think microbial life will be found everywhere an we will find multicellular life less frequently but still abundant because of the size of space.

a reply to: lostbook

I think life is bountiful in the solar system.

I think you're probably right....but I'm not too sure about sentient life.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: neoholographic

Great discovery
I'm trying to recall what Sci Fi Novel went into Titan in detail

wiki Sci Fi - Titan
Mars trilogy (1996) by Kim Stanley Robinson. Nitrogen from Titan is used in the Terraforming of Mars.

I think it's obvious that there's life on other planets.

LIfe will find a way

There was also a Robert Bear trilogy ("War Dogs" IIRC) where action in one novel "Killing Titan" took place on Titan.

Very good series; recommend it.

Oh, and I forgot my original point, which was that "The Expanse" space opera was entirely written about the existence of a "protomolecule", a primordial relic from a long dead alien civilization.

a reply to: SleeperHasAwakened

Thx

originally posted by: neoholographic
A molecule called cyclopropenylidene has been detected on Titan, one of Saturns moons. The thing is, this molecule hasn't been seen anywhere else in the solar system or outside of it. It's a molecule that has only been created in labs on earth.

Titan, the already pretty weird moon of Saturn, just got a little bit weirder. Astronomers have detected cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in its atmosphere - an extremely rare carbon-based molecule that's so reactive, it can only exist on Earth in laboratory conditions.

In fact, it's so rare that it has never before been detected in an atmosphere, in the Solar System or elsewhere. The only other place it can remain stable is the cold void of interstellar space. But it may be a building block for more complex organic molecules that could one day lead to life.

"We think of Titan as a real-life laboratory where we can see similar chemistry to that of ancient Earth when life was taking hold here," said astrobiologist Melissa Trainer of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, one of the chief scientists set to investigate the moon in the upcoming Dragonfly mission launching in 2027.

"We'll be looking for bigger molecules than C3H2, but we need to know what's happening in the atmosphere to understand the chemical reactions that lead complex organic molecules to form and rain down to the surface."

www.sciencealert.com...

I think it's obvious that there's life on other planets. Sadly, we're still primitive when it comes to actually exploring planets, the last time we sent someone to the moon was 1972. It's good we have the Dragonfly mission going to Titan in 2027 if the world lasts that long.

Any thoughts?

I love how we keep finding Hydrocarbons in places we don't expect that are by nature quite full of trapped energy not created by Dinosaurs. This is important because something has to explain why we have so much of it in new fields on Earth and the old wells fill back up. We have detected at least one of our Solar System moons is full of Hydrocarbon matter. Titan is an example for science to advance scientific theories.

This mysteries are clues that build our scientific data base and cause theories to be revised.

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: lostbook

I think life is bountiful in the solar system.

I think you're probably right....but I'm not too sure about sentient life.

I could not agree more.

a reply to: Justoneman

Good point. I remember reading that the earth keeps regenerating oil and that the oil crisis of 1974 was contrived. I'll try to find the source of that study and come back to this thread. I'm posting from phone and it's easier to get links in front of my PC

a reply to: Justoneman

www.investors.com...

This information backs up the idea that Earth is actually an oil-producing machine. We call energy sources such as crude oil and natural gas fossil fuels based on the assumption that they are the products of decaying organisms, maybe even dinosaurs themselves. But the label is a misnomer. Research from the last decade found that hydrocarbons are synthesized abiotically.


In other words, as Science magazine has reported, the "data imply that hydrocarbons are produced chemically" from carbon found in Earth's mantle. Nature magazine calls the product of this process an "unexpected bounty " of "natural gas and the building blocks of oil products."

originally posted by: neoholographic
A molecule called cyclopropenylidene has been detected on Titan, one of Saturns moons. The thing is, this molecule hasn't been seen anywhere else in the solar system or outside of it. It's a molecule that has only been created in labs on earth.

Titan, the already pretty weird moon of Saturn, just got a little bit weirder. Astronomers have detected cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in its atmosphere - an extremely rare carbon-based molecule that's so reactive, it can only exist on Earth in laboratory conditions.

In fact, it's so rare that it has never before been detected in an atmosphere, in the Solar System or elsewhere. The only other place it can remain stable is the cold void of interstellar space. But it may be a building block for more complex organic molecules that could one day lead to life.

"We think of Titan as a real-life laboratory where we can see similar chemistry to that of ancient Earth when life was taking hold here," said astrobiologist Melissa Trainer of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, one of the chief scientists set to investigate the moon in the upcoming Dragonfly mission launching in 2027.

"We'll be looking for bigger molecules than C3H2, but we need to know what's happening in the atmosphere to understand the chemical reactions that lead complex organic molecules to form and rain down to the surface."

www.sciencealert.com...

I think it's obvious that there's life on other planets. Sadly, we're still primitive when it comes to actually exploring planets, the last time we sent someone to the moon was 1972. It's good we have the Dragonfly mission going to Titan in 2027 if the world lasts that long.

Any thoughts?

Good find and there's a lot of these discoveries. I would be shocked if life isn't found on Titan.

a reply to: TheLead

And when everything gets figured out the universe destroys itself and something else more ridiculous takes its place.

I THINK i got the gist of Adams right. Hopefully. That was a Hitchhiker reference right?

a reply to: SleeperHasAwakened

Its a excellent read. I keep telling everyone its the most realistic take on space I have read yet. Although The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is pretty close to human tendencies as well

It does look like an unusual hydrocarbon formation, more common in the very cold depths of outer space. I don't know why there would be a high presence of it on Titan, give the impression of it being a very inhospitable place. On first impressions it sounds like there is a very low oxygen count on Titan, I don't know?