Water found somewhere beyond Earth

In summary, Cassini has found evidence of geysers erupting from underground pools of liquid water on Saturn's moon Enceladus. This could mean that there is potential life on the moon. Scientists are anxious to land a space probe on the moon to investigate further.
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scott1
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http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/03/09/cassini.enceladus/
(CNN) -- The Cassini space probe has found evidence of geysers erupting from underground pools of liquid water on Saturn's moon Enceladus, scientists announced on Thursday.
This probably one of the most important discoveries in space exploration.
I wonder if there is other life within somewhere in our solar system.If there is then wouldn't be on the other inner planets.I wonder if it's possible that there could a moon orbiting a gas giant that we don't know about that has life on it.
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
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scott1 said:
This probably one of the most important discoveries in space exploration.
I wonder if there is other life within somewhere in our solar system.If there is then wouldn't be on the other inner planets.I wonder if it's possible that there could a moon orbiting a gas giant that we don't know about that has life on it.

It’s certainly a possibility, and that’s why scientists are itching to get space probes landing on these ice covered moons. Unfortunately discoveries of such kind, and our knowledge of the terrain of these worlds is being pushed back at least another decade, due to the cancellation of the Europa mission.

Enceladus is a tiny planet, with a diameter of only 498 km, http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA07724.jpg" [Broken] a picture comparing it to the UK.
 
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according to a video on the evolution of life on Earth I have seen, planets need to be inside a special ring around their star that limits radiation, but still provides enough warmth to heat the planet. These same scientist also believe that the star needs to be of equivalent size to our sun, and the planet needs to be of equivalent size of the Earth and Mars.

So that means the Andorians don't exist!:cry:

I personally believe that anything is possible, so Life on the moon could exist!
 
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The http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/03/09/a-huge-nasa-announcement-today/" is reporting on a rumor spreading around the internet about a major NASA announcement later on today:

I have been getting email about a potentially "huge" NASA announcement scheduled for 2:00 p.m. today (Eastern) . It was originally broken by a Florida news station (the link may be down due to its getting slammed), but it looks as if this is somewhat overblown.

While Keith at http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2006/03/will_there_be_a.html" [Broken] points out the irony of the situation in regards to a 50% cut in astrobiology:

Of course, the sad aspect of this story is with regard to all of this sudden interest and excitement about life in the universe among the media and the general public - interest that seems to be on a hair trigger. Gee, do you think this might be something that people expect - and want - NASA to be doing?. Too bad Mike Griffin and Mary Cleave don't get that message - and want to cut NASA's Astrobiology program - the effort which studies this topic - by 50%
 
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  • #5
scott1 said:
I wonder if there is other life within somewhere in our solar system.If there is then wouldn't be on the other inner planets.I wonder if it's possible that there could a moon orbiting a gas giant that we don't know about that has life on it.

The best candidates for other places in our solar system with life are some of the large moons of Jupiter which are also suspected to have liquid water below their icy surface (and now I suppose we can add Saturn's moon Enceladus to the list). There's also still hope to find microbial life on Mars below the ground surface (although a slightly higher-probability hope is to find fossil microbes there). Other speculations are out there too...but liquid water seems to provide the best chance.
 
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kahless2005 said:
according to a video on the evolution of life on Earth I have seen, planets need to be inside a special ring around their star that limits radiation, but still provides enough warmth to heat the planet. These same scientist also believe that the star needs to be of equivalent size to our sun, and the planet needs to be of equivalent size of the Earth and Mars.
That is what would be needed to have life on earth.Which is carbon-based.It could be possible that life could exist with alternative bio-chemistry and require differn't needs.
I think life exist anywhere with the right chemical rections,there is evoltion.It is theortically "possible" that an ammonia-based life from exist on Jupiter(and highly100,000 unlikely).
You might want to read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrobiology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_biochemistry
http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj22/miller1.html [Broken]
The discovery of extremophiles has changed the previous paradigm that life can only be found on pleasant Earth-like planets. Astrobiologists are now reminding us that life can be found in extreme locations.
 
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1. Where was water found beyond Earth?

Water has been found in various forms on several celestial bodies beyond Earth, including Mars, Europa (one of Jupiter's moons), Enceladus (one of Saturn's moons), and several asteroids.

2. How was water discovered beyond Earth?

Scientists have used various methods to detect the presence of water beyond Earth, including studying the chemical composition of the celestial bodies, analyzing data from spacecraft flybys, and using ground-based telescopes.

3. Is the water found beyond Earth drinkable?

It is unlikely that the water found beyond Earth is drinkable in its current state. Most of the water is frozen or in the form of ice, and may be mixed with other substances that make it unsafe for human consumption.

4. What does the presence of water beyond Earth mean?

The discovery of water beyond Earth is significant because it suggests the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Water is essential for life as we know it, and its presence on other celestial bodies increases the chances of finding living organisms beyond Earth.

5. Can humans use the water found beyond Earth?

While it may be difficult to access and use the water found beyond Earth, there are ongoing efforts to develop technology that can extract and utilize this water for human exploration and potentially even colonization of other planets or moons.

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