Ice on Mercury in polar crater shade

AI Thread Summary
The discovery of stable polar water ice deposits on Mercury has significant implications for astrobiology, as these deposits are believed to have been formed over time by comets and asteroids. The ice exists in micro-environments with temperatures ranging from 550 to 50 kelvin and is located near rich organic chemicals, suggesting the presence of essential building blocks for life. While NASA officials did not claim to have found life, their enthusiasm during the press conference indicated the potential for "unusual phenomena" in these crater regions. The idea of life evolving in the water pools around the ice was humorously proposed, highlighting the fascination with the implications of this discovery. This finding opens up exciting possibilities for future exploration and research on Mercury.
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Send out a rover! :smile:
 
Bah, send out colonists!
 
Just think, life evolves in the water pools around the ice sheet. First single cell animals, then fish, then lungfish, then a little dinasaur that crawls out of the water, crawls out of the crater, and is vaporized *poof*. Interesting twist on natural selection...
 
I was watching the live video feed from the NASA press conference, and took the following notes:

- stable polar water ice deposits
- deposited over a long term by comets and asteroids
- redistributing into crater micro-environments which range from 550 to 50 kelvin
- in close proximity to rich organic chemicals
- all the building blocks of life
- images are expected of "unusual phenomena" in the vicinity of these craters

Although the NASA folks specifically denied they were reporting anything like finding life, they were grinning from ear to ear over their splendid results.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 

Thread '3I/ATLAS, Interstellar Comet'

3I/ATLAS, also known as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) and formerly designated as A11pl3Z, is an iinterstellar comet. It was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) station at Río Hurtado, Chile on 1 July 2025. Note: it was mentioned (as A11pl3Z) by DaveE in a new member's introductory thread. https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/brian-cox-lead-me-here.1081670/post-7274146 https://earthsky.org/space/new-interstellar-object-candidate-heading-toward-the-sun-a11pl3z/ One...
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