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ALMA image of organics in Titan's atmosphere. (Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; M. Cordiner (NASA) et al.)

Odd distribution of organics in Titan’s atmosphere could be a sign of extraterrestrial life

A recent, brief observation of Saturn’s moon Titan revealed unusual groupings of organic molecules in the atmosphere.

ALMA image of the distribution of molecules in Titan's atmosphere. (Credit: Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; M. Cordiner (NASA) et al.)

ALMA image of the distribution of molecules in Titan’s atmosphere. (Credit: Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; M. Cordiner (NASA) et al.)

Scientists made the discovery while observing Titan’s atmosphere using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile’s Atacama desert. “A single 3 minute observation revealed organic molecules that are askew in the atmosphere of Titan,” Universe Today explains. “The molecules in question should be smoothly distributed across the atmosphere, but they are not.”

A National Radio Astronomy Observatory press release calls this a “potentially groundbreaking discovery.”

Universe Today points out that, “When one hears there is a strange, skewed combination of organic compounds somewhere, the first thing to come to mind is life.” So far, researchers don’t have an obvious explanation for the discovery. But they are exploring other possible causes.

The ALMA. (Credit: ESO/C. Pontoni)

The ALMA. (Credit: ESO/C. Pontoni)

“These ALMA observations give us new insights into how organic molecules, the building blocks of life, form and evolve in a planet-like environment,” says astronomer Anthony Remijan of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. “It is exciting to imagine the new discoveries ALMA will enable as we look more deeply at other interesting objects in our Solar System.”

The research on these unexpected variations in Titan’s atmosphere was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

E-ELT on Cerro Armazones

Artist’s impression of the E-ELT on Cerro Armazones. (Credit: ESO)

Another powerful tool in the hunt for extraterrestrial life, the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), is currently under construction, and is also in Chile’s Atacama desert. This tool will be the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope when it is completed in 2024, and it will have the ability to directly image exoplanets and study the atmospheres of planets, helping scientists identify worlds that may support life as we know it.

About Jason McClellan

Jason McClellan is a UFO journalist and the producer/co-host of the web series Spacing Out! He is also the web content manager and staff writer for OpenMinds.tv, and a co-organizer and technical producer of the International UFO Congress. As a founding member of Open Minds, Jason served as a writer and editor for the now defunct Open Minds magazine. He has appeared on Syfy, NatGeo, and, most recently, he co-starred on H2's Hangar 1: The UFO Files. ------ Follow Jason on Twitter @acecentric and subscribe to Jason's updates on Facebook.

One comment

  1. Nope there are no living creatures on Titan currently living at this time in history.

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