Re: Zodiacal light linked to ancient Martian oceans
From: Sander Vesik (sander_at_haldjas.folklore.ee)
Date: 06/02/04
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Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 02:06:50 +0000 (UTC)
In sci.space.policy Doug... <dvandorn@nospam.mn.rr.com> wrote:
> In article <1085931228.730857@haldjas.folklore.ee>,
> sander@haldjas.folklore.ee says...
> > In sci.space.policy Herb Schaltegger <herbschaltegger@spamtrap.invalid> wrote:
> > > In article <1085870641.676887@haldjas.folklore.ee>,
> > > Sander Vesik <sander@haldjas.folklore.ee> wrote:
> > >
> > > > In sci.space.policy Herb Schaltegger <herbschaltegger@spamtrap.invalid> wrote:
> > > > > In article <40B8A9C3.1090703@tabletoptelephone.com>,
> > > > > Hop David <hopspageHATESSPAaMmM@tabletoptelephone.com> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > The words "Martian biosphere" seem to imply existence of Martian life.
> > > > > > I'm skeptical Martian life has ever existed.
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm keeping an open mind, especially in light of (very) recent findings
> > > > > of methane and possibly ammonia in the Martian atmosphere in amounts
> > > > > which cannot be easily explained in the absence of biological processes.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Has anybody calculated how long a trace amount of methane would be present
> > > > in martian atmosphere? For that matter - can it be ruled out that martian
> > > > atmosphere didn't once conatin a lot of methane, most of which left?
> > > >
> > > > Just curious, not trying to naysay its biological origin.
> > >
> > > Here's the initial press release/story from ESA regarding methane:
> > >
> > > <http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMZ0B57ESD_0.html>
> >
> > But that could be caused by occasional out-gassing from volcanic processes
> > deep down inside the planet, no? Say once a century or even more seldom?
> > It would be inetersting to see if the distribution is uniform and if the
> > amount is constant or declining over time.
>
> From the looks of what I've seen, I think you can pretty well conclude
> that Mars is not "teeming" with either life or volcanic activity.
> Whatever is causing the methane and ammonia signatures is probably
> fairly minor and localized. (Remember, even the indications of ice in
> the regolith shows that it's not at all global -- it's somewhat
> localized and not characteristic of the entire Martian surface.)
>
> It would be good to see just how widespread these results are, though --
> and to see if there's any correlation between the methane/ammonia
> signatures and particular forms of topography or geology...
No - unless it is very recent and happens in only one area then it will
be very well dispersed. It stays around for a hundred pus years - consider
how many global dust storms will happen in that time.
What you really need is recording the average for a decade, then you'll start
to have an idea how much this is a steady flow vs. occasional "burps"
>
> Doug
> dvandorn@NOSPAM.mn.rr.com
-- Sander +++ Out of cheese error +++
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